


my heart on your sleeve

by LSFRevanfan29



Category: Heathers (1988), Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, eventually, implied off screen attempted noncon in chapter 4, it'll take awhile to get to that point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2020-11-09 11:09:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 60,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20852465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LSFRevanfan29/pseuds/LSFRevanfan29
Summary: When Veronica wrote “Fuck Heather Chandler” on her arm after Kurt and Ram’s party, she hadn’t expected an answer, or for said answer to come from the mythic bitch herself.Soulmate AU





	1. why did it have to be you?

Veronica stumbled down the road, trying to stay upright as the street swayed beneath her. Wavering off the sidewalk, she leaned against a tree for support. She cursed Heather Chandler for what seemed to be the hundredth time. If Heather hadn’t tried to humiliate Martha, then she would still be having a good time, would still have a ride home, and would still have a future at Westerberg come Monday morning. Veronica had sold her soul to the demon queen for a chance at popularity and now she had collected it, preparing to stomp it under her bright red heels. She needed someone, anyone, to vent to.

Through her drunken haze, it came to her. JD. The hot, mysterious new kid. The one Veronica was sure was the Receiver to her Writer; that what she wrote on her skin showed up on the skin hidden beneath his signature trench coat. He’d understand. She pushed her back against the tree, letting the bark catch on her blazer as she shoved her hand into her pockets, her uncoordinated fingers searching for her pen. After a few embarrassing minutes, she found it and used her teeth to get the cap off. The cap still in her mouth, Veronica went to work, pulling up the sleeve enough that her forearm was visible. The cool pen nib touched her skin, and in a sloppy rendition of her handwriting wrote “Fuck Heather Chandler”. Studying her handiwork for a moment, she recapped her pen and put it away, walking in the direction that she thought JD’s house was. At least now, if her theory held true, he would have some clue as to why she was showing up at his house so late at night.

* * *

Heather sulked against the bar, taking a sip of her drink while McNamara danced with Ram, and Duke made out with some senior guy she couldn’t be bothered to know the name of. This wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go. Heather was supposed to be partying with Veronica as she proved herself to be worthy of being apart of their clique. But no. Fucking Veronica Sawyer just had to go and ruin it by being all noble over Martha fucking Dumptruck. Who was Martha Dumptruck compared to her: Heather fucking Chandler. Martha was a speck of dust in the corner of a gas station bathroom compared to her, and Veronica just threw it all away over her loser friend.

Heather had distracted herself by making out with Kurt for a little while after Veronica left, but now she was left to stew in her own bitterness as Kurt played beer pong with some of the other football players. She took another sip, which turned into a full-on chug, letting the alcohol burn Veronica’s face from her brain. She didn’t want to think of the way the other girl had looked at her, the anger and hurt on her face as Heather promised to end her on Monday morning. She glared at her empty glass. No, she didn’t want to think about that traitor.

A familiar, cool sensation broke out on her left arm and Heather let out a sigh of relief. It was if her soulmate had read her mind, knowing she needed something to distract her. He always seemed to know when she needed something to cheer her up, whether it be some lame poetry verse or something as simple as a doodle. Putting her glass down, she left the bar and headed upstairs, the people in her path parting out of her way like the Red Sea. Heather didn’t like to show off her soulmate’s messages; they were for her and her alone. The other Heathers (and the girl she didn’t want to think about) knew she was a Receiver, but she never let any of them see what messages she received, always making sure they were covered, either with a jacket, long sleeves, or concealer.

Opening the bathroom door, Heather found a pair of juniors making out against the sink. All it took was one of her more vicious glares and the two bolted, scrambling to leave her presence. A smirk graced her lips as she locked the door behind them. At least some people still had an inkling of self-preservation. Double checking the lock, she let the smirk fall and a small smile take its place. She let out a shaky breath and pulled up the sleeve of her red dress.

**Fuck Heather Chandler**

Her smile fell. Heather dropped the sleeve and blinked. She couldn’t have read that right. She lifted the sleeve again. It was still there. Her soulmate’s handwriting was more sloppy than usual, but it was undoubtedly his, and her name was right there in his scrawl.

“What the fuck!” she exclaimed, her brow furrowed as she stomped her foot, her eyes stinging.

She had always dreamed of the day her soulmate would write her name on his skin and their bond would open so that she could write back on hers. God, what Receiver didn’t? She even had a fantasy for how things would progress after that point. They would start a conversation until they finally realized who the other was, and then kiss passionately before falling into a long embrace. Was it realistic? No, not really. But it was her fantasy; she was allowed to be a little unrealistic.

She had never expected that this would be the way her name would show up on her own arm. This didn’t make any sense. How could he say something like that to her? They were supposed to be the best fit for one another; he wasn’t supposed to hate her.

As she stared at her arm, the angrier she got. How fucking dare he talk to her like that, his own soulmate. Heather let the emotion fill her; anger was much easier to manage than the sinking feeling that had been trying to overtake her. She jammed her sleeve down and unlocked the bathroom door, throwing it open and letting it slam against the wall. Her fists clenched, she stalked back down the stairs. At the foot of them, she surveyed the main hall until she found who she was looking for. She pushed past anyone who didn’t move out of her way fast enough until she reached Heather Duke, who was sucking face with… was that Keith from the country club? Whatever, that wasn’t important. Grabbing Duke’s shoulder, she broke the two of them apart, turning Duke around towards her.

“What the fuck?!” Duke yelled, her face scrunched up in consternation until she realized who had broke them apart. Her face lost its color as she stared, her eyes widening as the boy she had been kissing ran for it. “Heather, you’re crying.”

Heather wiped her eyes and traitorous tears stained her sleeve. Fuck. “Shut up, Heather! I need your pen. Now.”

“What-”

“PEN.” She narrowed her eyes further than they had been before. “NOW.”

Duke’s shoulders slumped in submission, and a look of fear adorned her features. Reaching into her blazer, she pulled out the pen Heather had known she always carried. Heather snatched it and walked away, stumbling slightly from the alcohol in her system until she reached the bar. She could sense Duke following behind her, but Heather couldn’t give a shit, too focused on the object of her anger. Reaching the bar, she slammed her left hand down and wrote on the back: “Well fuck you too”.

She clicked the pen closed and shoved it back at Duke before grabbing an empty cup, pouring herself another round of beer. Behind her, she could feel Duke’s confused gaze making holes in her skull. Annoyed, she ignored her and chugged the contents of her cup.

‘Fuck soulmates,’ she thought as the alcohol burned her throat.

* * *

Veronica stumbled over her feet as she walked onto JD’s lawn, feeling the cool grass slip between her toes, her shoes now in her hand. She surveyed the house. It was only one story, which helped her current crusade, but now she had to figure out which window was JD’s. Somehow, she didn’t think JD’s dad would appreciate a drunk seventeen-year-old falling into his room. Only one room was still lit up.

‘It must be that one,’ Veronica thought. Adults went to sleep earlier than teens more often than not, after all.

She made to head towards the window, when she felt a cool sensation break out over the back of her hand. She raised it to her face, but it blurred, splitting into two the longer she stared. She closed her eyes and willed the world to go back to normal. Opening them again, there was one hand again, now with black words written on it. She furrowed her brow; she had written on her arm, hadn’t she? She turned it to the side, so that the letters faced up the right way.

** _Well fuck you too_ **

Veronica froze. That wasn’t her handwriting. She looked again. Nope. Definitely not hers. She tried to think. Had she written JD’s name? No. She definitely wouldn’t have told him “fuck you” either. Then what…

It hit her like a truck. “No,” she whispered. She pulled up her sleeve. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no.”

And sure enough, there it was. Heather Chandler’s name – the only name she was sure she had written today. And the only one she had written that justified a response like the one on her hand.

This couldn’t be right. This had to be some sick joke. There was no way Heather Chandler was her soulmate. No way. There was no fucking way Heather fucking Chandler, evil incarnate, demon queen of Westerberg, was her soulmate. And yet there was no other explanation. The only way her soulmate could be talking back to her is if she had written their name on her skin and sure enough, the only name she had written was Heather’s.

“What the fuck!” Veronica yelled out loud.

She glared at her hand. This wasn’t fair. It was supposed to be JD. He was the one who had the same interests as her, who had that cool, mysterious aura, who seemed into her as well. She didn’t mind that Heather was a girl. She had figured out the previous year that she liked both girls and guys. The issue was the fact that Heather was, well, Heather. Maybe, if she glared hard enough, the words would fade away, or she’d wake up and find that this was all a bad, drunken dream.

“Veronica?”

Veronica’s head shot up. The window to the lit room was now open. JD was leaning out, a confused look on his face.

“JD, I…” Veronica trailed off. All things considered, her previous plan didn’t seem like a good idea now.

He studied her for a moment. “Wanna grab a Slurpee?”

* * *

Veronica took a long sip from her Cherry Slurpee and let the cold ice freeze her brain like JD had suggested earlier. The whole soulmate thing had sobered her up significantly, but the Slurpee was definitely giving her a little more clarity. At least the world wasn’t spinning or doubling anymore.

“So,” JD asked from his place on the curb, fiddling with the straw of his own Slurpee, “do you want to talk about why you were on my lawn?”

Veronica groaned. “Actually, I’d like to forget tonight ever happened.”

JD raised an eyebrow. “Went that well?”

“Yeah, it was a real rager.” Veronica took another sip. “I threw up on Heather Chandler’s shoes after basically committing social suicide.”

JD laughed. “So, you resigned from the lipstick Gestapo and then puked on their leader. Well done.”

“Yeah, well, flushing my reputation down the toilet isn’t exactly what I consider a job well done.” She mumbled as she stirred her straw around, edging it around the plastic top of the Slurpee.

“What’s not to like? You freed yourself from the Heathers and humiliated the head Heather in one go.”

“Like it’s that simple. Heather has everyone in this school under her perfectly manicured finger; no one’s going to associate with me come Monday. They’re all too scared of her.”

“Maybe the majority of the morons at this school,” JD countered. “But not everyone is so far up Heather’s ass that they’ll listen to her bullshit. Like me, for example.”

‘God,’ Veronica thought. ‘Why couldn’t it have been him?’

JD’s eyebrow rose. “Why couldn’t have what been me?”

Shit. She said that out loud. So much for sobering up. “Nothing.” She said quickly, her cheeks heating up. “Forget I said that.”

JD smirked. “Well now I’m even more intrigued.”

Veronica sighed. Well she needed to talk about it to someone; might as well be him. “I found out who my soulmate was.”

An unreadable expression crossed his face. Was that disappointment? “Oh.” It passed and the smirk returned. “You know, generally, finding out your soulmate’s identity is considered a good thing.”

“Usually is the key word there.” Veronica replied. “It’s not in my case.”

“Come on, short of being tied to Satan, how bad could it be?”

“I think being tied to Satan isn’t far off,” Veronica said as she pulled up her sleeve of her dress, revealing her drunken message, and displayed it so he could read both the one on her arm and the one on her hand clearly.

The amused expression faded off of JD’s face as he read, and one filled with an equal amount of understanding and disgust took its place. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Veronica said, as she shoved the sleeve down again. “Oh.”

An uncomfortable silence overtook them as JD’s face contorted, looking as if he was trying to figure out how to proceed.

“So,” he said after the world’s longest minute, “um, did you find out before or after the puking?”

“After. About a minute before you opened your window actually.”

“Oh.” The silence returned for a beat. “And, um, how are you, uh, feeling about that?”

“I don’t know, how would you feel if you found out you were bonded to the head demon of Westerberg High?”

JD winced. “Point taken.” He ran his fingers through his dark locks. “So, what are you gonna do?”

Veronica ran her hand over her face. “I have absolutely no fucking idea. If I tell her, she’s going to freak, and if I don’t tell her and she finds out later, she’s going to freak.” She kicked one of the pebbles by her feet. “Honestly, I don’t even want to deal with it, especially after what she did tonight.”

“Why, what shitty thing did they do at the party?” JD asked, looking glad for a change in subject.

Veronica gave him the rundown of the Heathers’ attempted prank on Martha: how they had dressed up the pig piñata to resemble Martha, how they tried to have Martha break it open without her knowing what it was dressed as, how Veronica had thrown the pinata away before she could see, how she had resigned from the Heathers with the prank being the last straw, and how she had puked over Heather’s shoes immediately after. She conveniently left out the fact that she had been heading to his house to sleep with him, instead saying that the message was intended as a way to vent her frustrations.

“God, just when I think the Heathers can’t get any scummier, they defy my expectations.” JD said after Veronica had finished her story.

“I know.” Veronica stabbed her Slurpee with her straw. “How can my soulmate be someone so heartless? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she didn’t even have a soul.”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense that someone like you should have to be bonded to someone like her.” JD put his empty Slurpee cup down on the curb beside him. “It’s so fucked up.”

Veronica took another long sip of her Slurpee, enjoying the rush her brain freeze cause. She could see why JD liked the feeling. It definitely helped to drown out her thoughts.

“What am I going to do?” She asked. “There’s no scenario where Heather doesn’t freak the fuck out.”

“Hmm.” JD snapped his fingers. “I got it.”

“I’m all ears.”

“Well, why don’t you make her work for it?” JD suggested.

Veronica raised an eyebrow. “Explain.”

“Well, Heather’s probably had everything handed to her on a silver platter, right? I mean she drives a Porsche for fuck’s sake. Keeping your identity from her would drive her crazy.”

“As fun as that sounds, and it definitely does,” Veronica replied, “Heather will kill me when she finds out that it was me the whole time. She’s so touchy about her soulmate that she doesn’t even let the other Heathers see the messages.” Which, in hindsight, made it obvious to how she hadn’t figured it out sooner.

“Maybe, or maybe you guys can talk it out and you can turn Heather’s soul from the dark side or whatever.” Veronica gave him an unimpressed look. “I’m fucking with you. But this way, you can come out on top of the situation.”

“And how exactly would that happen?” Veronica was still unimpressed.

“So, hear me out. You give Heather enough clues that she thinks she has a chance of figuring it out, but not enough that she’ll actually catch on. And when the time comes, she’ll be the one that had all the signs but didn’t put them together. Plus, messing with her can be some sort of payback for what her and the other Heathers did to Martha.”

Veronica thought it over. Whether she liked it or not, her and Heather were stuck with one another, glued together by this stupid bond. She was never gonna have this chance again. Once Heather found out the truth, there was no going back. She might as well milk this as long as possible. Plus, she _did_ like the thought of payback.

“You make a good case.” Veronica lifted her half-empty Slurpee cup. “To fucking with Heather Chandler!”

JD grinned. He tapped his cup to hers. “I’ll drink to that.”

* * *

The first thing Veronica was aware of when she woke up was her head pounding. She opened her eyes, only to slam them shut again as the bright light from the window seared her eyes. ‘Alcohol bad,’ she thought as she covered her face with her comforter. Though the Slurpee had probably helped hydrate her a little, it didn’t take away all of the side effects. Edging her eyes open from under the comforter, she peeked out, prepared this time. It was still bright, but not as bad as before. Putting her hand to her head, she shut her blinds and closed her curtains. Why did she even leave those open last night? Now more fully adjusted, Veronica examined her arm and prayed that the events of last night had been a bad dream.

They hadn’t. Still on her arm was ‘fuck Heather Chandler’ in her own handwriting and still on her hand was ‘well fuck you too’ in Heather’s. Veronica sighed. What was she even supposed to follow that up with? Somehow, last night, she had completely forgotten that in order to enact the plan JD had come up with, she was actually going to have to talk with Heather.

Deciding to procrastinate dealing with that for as long as possible, Veronica headed for the shower, trying to think up some ideas as she let the hot water run over her, but coming up with nothing. She scrubbed the message from her skin, hoping to erase the current reality and go back to when things made sense. Her writing came off easily enough, but she couldn’t wash off Heather’s, no matter how hard she tried.

‘Heather’s overabundance of concealer makes a lot more sense now,’ she thought as she looked pitifully at the red skin around the stark black writing.

As she dried off, Veronica contemplated if she should just forget this stupid plan and go apologize to Heather so she could get back in her good graces. On the one hand, being on Heather’s good side would make this whole situation blow over more smoothly once everything came to light, and not being an ex-somebody would certainly be a plus. On the other, there was no guarantee she would even be forgiven, and keeping this a secret would be a lot harder if she was around Heather constantly, the blazers and long sleeves be damned. Plus, Veronica didn’t know if she could stomach going back to being one of Heather’s lapdogs, especially after what happened with Martha.

Now completely dry, she pulled on her outfit and made sure she looked decent. Taking one last look at her hand, now covered in concealer, she headed downstairs, grabbing her keys as she opened the front door. There was someone she needed to apologize to, she concluded, but it sure as hell wasn’t Heather Chandler.

* * *

Heather’s face twisted as the prairie oyster she concocted slid down her throat. Forcing herself to keep it down, she threw the cup into the sink and made her way back through the empty halls and into her room, where she promptly plopped back onto her bed. She put her face down in her pillow in an attempt to block out the light that was streaming in from between her blinds. In that moment, Heather felt a stab of envy towards Heather Duke, a foreign feeling that only surfaced whenever she was hung over. No matter how wasted she would get during a party, Duke never suffered from hangovers, while Heather and McNamara were left to suffer in a misery of their own making. She wondered how Veronica-

‘No,’ Heather thought, stopping herself in her tracks. ‘I’m not thinking about that traitor till she comes crawling back. Besides,’ Heather lifted her head so that she could glance at her arm, ‘there’s another traitor that needs to be dealt with.’

Her soulmate’s message had disappeared before she woke up, but her own was still on her hand, proving that the whole ordeal hadn’t been some drunken hallucination. She glared at the blank spot where her name had been. What had prompted him to write it on his arm? It had to have been something to do with the party. Maybe she had been bitchy to him inadvertently. It wasn’t impossible. Actually, it was the furthest thing from impossible; she was bitchy to someone daily.

Or maybe he was sympathizing with Martha Dumptruck. That she doubted, since the only one who seemed to have a problem with it at the party was Ver- the traitor, and the message had appeared about a half an hour after the girl had left. Heather had taken her anger out on a lot of people who had deigned to get in her way after that, so it was most likely one of them. She tried to conjure up their faces, but none of them came to mind, all of them too beneath her in the moment for her to take notice of.

Whoever he was, she was growing more irritated with him by the second. Not only had he not replied to her, but now he was trying to hide the evidence of his crime. Coward, she thought. He thought he could shit talk her but hadn’t expected her to be the one on the other line listening in. Now he was trying to run from the truth. Well fuck him. Nursing her head, which was still pounding (thanks for nothing you useless prairie oyster), she walked over to her vanity and grabbed the washable marker she had bought ages ago for this very situation and began to write.

* * *

“Are… are we going to be okay?”

Veronica was sitting with Martha on the latter’s couch, Martha still in her PJs, not looking Veronica in the eye.

“Well,” Martha started, fiddling with her fingers, “it really sucks that you forged that note from Ram, knowing how much I liked him.”

“I know,” Veronica interjected, swallowing. “And I’m so, so sorry.”

“But…” She continued on as if Veronica hadn’t said anything. “…you still stopped me from playing into the Heathers’ prank, even though you knew they wouldn’t forgive you.” Martha made eye contact for the first time since Veronica had explained herself. “You did a crappy thing, but also a good thing. So, I think we will; I’m just going to be a little hurt for a while.”

Veronica gave a sad smiled and nodded her head. “I understand. Again, I’m- “

“Sorry. Yes, you’ve said. A lot.”

Veronica used her left hand to move her hair behind her ear. “I don’t think I’ll ever not be though.”

Martha sighed. “Look, Veronica. I…” She trailed off, her eyes widening, a gasp escaping her lips. “Holy crap! Veronica! Your arm!”

The same cool sensation from the previous night broke out on her arm and with lightning speed, Veronica moved her left arm down, watching in horror as red letters formed words on her forearm.

** _So what? You’re just ignoring me now? Real charming._ **

Veronica bit back a groan as Martha squealed beside her.

“You opened contact with your soulmate?!” She exclaimed, grabbing Veronica’s arm and looking at it in awe. “When? How? Why didn’t you say anything?!”

Veronica rubbed her face with her free hand. “It’s complicated.”

“Complicated?” Martha gave her a look of exasperation. “This is your soulmate we’re talking about! It’s supposed to be the least complicated thing ever! It’s destiny!”

“Yeah, well,” Veronica moved her arm out of Martha’s grip and put her head into her hands, “if this is destiny, it sure is shit.”

Martha frowned, her eyebrows scrunching together. “I don’t understand. Veronica, this is what we’ve always dreamed about, what we fantasized about during our sleepovers. What’s going on?”

Veronica bit her lip. She debated the pros and cons of telling Martha the truth. On the one hand, there was no lost love between Martha and Heather, or any of the Heathers really, especially considering the events of the last few days. On the other, she didn’t want to lie to her friend, not when she had just betrayed her trust.

“Martha, you know how we don’t get to choose our soulmates, right?”

Martha’s brow furrowed. “Of course. Veronica, why does that matter?”

“Just…” Veronica took a deep breath. “Just keep that in mind. Ok?”

With that, Veronica launched into her tale, picking up where she had left off before: with her drunk and angry after the party. She watched Martha’s expressions closely as she told her about the following events, at how her face shifted from curiosity, to confusion, before settling on some cross between horror and shock.

“Wait!” Martha exclaimed, grabbing Veronica’s arm again and pointing to the loopy red writing. “You’re saying that’s Heather Chandler on your arm?!”

“Unfortunately.” Veronica avoided Martha’s eyes.

“That’s… wow… ok… holy crap.”

Veronica grimaced. “I told you it was complicated.”

“But it doesn’t make sense!” Martha threw her arms into the air. “How could you be bonded to someone so… so…”

“Heartless? Manipulative? Bitchy?”

“Evil.”

Veronica nodded her head. “I have no idea, but I am, and it sucks.”

Martha’s expression turned to one of concern. “What are you going to do? Are you gonna tell her?”

“No. Yes. Maybe. Eventually.” Veronica groaned, putting her head into her hands again. “Ugh, it’s complicated.”

Martha put her hand on Veronica’s back and rubbed small circles into it with her thumb. “I think that might be the understatement of the year.”

Veronica looked up at Martha and saw nothing but compassion on her face. God, why did she ever give into the Heathers about the forged note? How could she hurt someone so good, someone who was still trying to comfort her despite everything she had just confessed to less than ten minutes ago?

She took a deep breath. “JD and I thought up a plan to handle all of this, but I don’t know what you’re gonna think about it.”

Veronica quickly gave Martha a rundown of JD’s idea.

“Well, normally I wouldn’t be okay with something as underhanded as that,” Martha replied after a beat. “But considering it’s Heather Chandler we’re talking about, I think it’s a fair exception. But Veronica, you know if she finds out, you’re going to be toast, right?”

Veronica laughed humorlessly. “I’m already dead come Monday; Heather said so herself. What do I have to lose?”

* * *

Veronica stared at her arm, studying the red loopy handwriting Heather had left about an hour ago. Her and Martha had talked for a little while longer before she had come straight home. It wasn’t as if she had any weekend prospects now that her social death hung over her, the scarlet words of her executioner stained on her skin like blood. She fiddled with her blue marker as she sat against her bed frame, her monocle fastened to her eye as she tried to concentrate.

How should she go about this? Should she be apologetic for her words? No. That was too easy and there was no chance in hell Heather would accept it, not when her line opening message was the written equivalent of Veronica spitting in her face. What about oblivious? No, Heather would never buy it. Depressed? No, Heather would mock her endlessly. Angry?

Veronica straightened and prepared to start writing. Yes. Angry could work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So this is a first for me, as I've never actually posted any of my fanfiction up here, as I'm dreadful at writing endings to my stories. But for once, I actually have this thing fully outlined until the very end. As I work a full time job and a part time job on top of that, I don't know how my update schedule will look like, but I definitely have every intention of finishing this thing.
> 
> I also want to clarify how soulmates work in this AU, since I don't think I'm the best at explaining things. So in this AU, in a set of soulmates, there is a Writer and a Receiver. Whatever the Writer writes on their skin will show up on the corresponding spot on the Receiver. The communication is only one way though until the Writer writes the Receiver's name on their skin, after which the communication goes both ways. It doesn't have to be the full name; Veronica could have just written Heather and it would have done the job. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	2. how could you be so (heartless)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica messages Heather back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold Text: Veronica’s messages  
Bold Italics Text: Heather's messages

Heather strummed her fingers across her vanity, her nails clacking against the wood, a frown on her face. It had been an hour since she had written her message to her soulmate and the coward had yet to write back. In that time, she had washed off the gross feeling she always had after one of Ram’s parties, gotten dressed, and styled her hair.

‘Just what was he doing?’ she thought as she glared at the empty space where his words had been. She debated whether she should do something drastic to get his attention and make him answer her. She had no plans until Duke and McNamara came over later, giving her plenty of time to fuck with him from the safety of her home. She could write something obscene on her face so that he would be forced to walk around with it where everyone could see. She could draw something immature for the same effect. Or she could just start annoying him until he wrote back. If he experienced the same sensation she did, then it would be sure to get on his nerves.

She was planning what to draw on her face when the tell-tale cooling sensation broke out on her arm. Heather raised it at record speed to eye level, uncaring of how desperate it made her look.

**Well excuse me for being a little freaked out**

Heather stared for a few minutes. “Are you kidding me?” she said as she clenched her jaw.

She had waited hours… for this?! Grabbing her marker from her bedside, Heather wrote her reply.

** _Oh, I’m sorry. Am I being too abrasive? You’re the stupid fuck who open the line with an insult towards me._ **

Heather was surprised when she received a response so quickly, after dealing with radio silence for the last 12 hours.

**Yeah, well, I wasn’t expecting you to be on the other side, now was I?**

Heather grabbed a wipe to wash off her previous messages to make room to write.

** _You should feel fucking honored to be linked with me_ **

His words from before disappeared from her skin and a new set took its place.

**God, are you always such a megabitch?**

Heather’s face heated up and she gripped her marker tighter.

** _Just who the hell do you think you are?_ **

**The unfortunate stupid fuck stuck with you, apparently**

Heather let out a growl. Why that little…

** _And who is that exactly? Who are you? You must go to Westerberg if you know who I am_ **

Instead of a reply, an odd collection of scribbles broke out on her hand. Heather had seen it a few times before as a child; it’s what showed up whenever her soulmate had tried to write his name on his skin to tell her who he was. She had learned that when he had written a message shortly after, telling her as much and apologizing for not being able to tell her. Since then they had never appeared again. Heather gritted her teeth.

** _Fuck you, you know that doesn’t show up_ **

The scribbles disappeared.

**You asked, I answered honestly. **

Heather saw red.

** _Tell me who you are in a way that’ll show up, or I swear to God I will end you_ **

He didn’t reply. Heather thought she had scared him off again when she felt his response come in.

**Kind of hard to do that when you don’t know who I am**

If there was one thing she was learning about her soulmate, it was that he apparently had a death wish, because no one, _no one_, spoke to her like that. She wrote her response so hard that the marker nib dug into her skin.

** _Tell me. Now._ **

The reply was prompt.

**No. Figure it out yourself.**

If Heather had been holding a pencil instead of a marker, it would have snapped in half from her increasingly tight grip. That…that…bastard! How dare he! In what way was it fair that he got to know who she was, and she was left in the dark? Heather tried to think up a retort, a way to intimidate him into telling her, but came up with nothing. Most of her usual methods of interrogation were useless here, with only written words as a means of contact. If he was here in person, she could use every tool at her disposal, using her intimidating aura to make him tell her.

But that was the problem. She wouldn’t need to intimidate him if they were speaking in person, since at that point, she would already know who he was. Heather gave a small scream of frustration before getting off of her bed and heading to her vanity, grabbing her concealer from its usual place. Laying a few coats of the stuff over the remaining messages like she had done a thousand times, she moved to pick up the phone. Hangover be damned, she needed something to distract her and shopping seemed like the perfect way to get her mind off of this.

* * *

Veronica stared at the messages on her arm. It had been about five minutes now and she had yet to get an answer back from Heather. Had she given up? Veronica smiled in triumph. That had been… exhilarating. If this conversation had gone down in person, or even over the phone, she would have never dared to be as bold as she had been. But with the layer of anonymity that the bond provided her, she could answer Heather however she deemed fit, and there was nothing Heather could do about it without letting the whole school in on her business.

The thought of school wiped the smile from her face. While Heather couldn’t do anything to her over the soulmate thing, she could and was going to destroy her come Monday. The thought of apologizing entered her mind again before she shook it off. Trying to apologize after she had just pissed Heather off would be stupid. And besides, she needed to hold true to her convictions. She needed to get away from the Heathers and their toxic mentality, even if it meant her social death.

Veronica slumped down in her bed, taking her monocle off and putting it on her night stand, her good mood ruined. This weekend was going to be a long one.

* * *

Heather browsed through the shoe racks at Macy’s as Duke and McNamara trailed behind her, McNamara looking a little worse for wear while Duke looked obnoxiously unaffected by the events of last night. She paid them little mind as she searched through the various boxes, trying to keep her attention on finding a new pair.

“Um, Heather?” McNamara asked from behind her. “Are you… okay?”

If it had been Duke, she would have just told her to shut up, but Heather didn’t hold McNamara in the same disdain. “I’m very.”

“Really?” Duke chimed in. “’Cause you look like you’re trying to set those shoes on fire with your eyes.”

Heather turned said look on Duke, making her wince. McNamara, looking uncomfortable, spoke up. “It’s just, we weren’t supposed to meet up for another few hours and now you’re not even talking to us.”

Heather dug her nails into her palm to stop from snapping. “I called early because I wanted to go shopping, not to be analyzed.”

McNamara made a placating motion with her hands. “I wasn’t trying to…”

“Yeah, well, it sure sounded like it, so back off, Heather.”

McNamara submitted, giving a small “sorry, Heather” as her shoulders dropped. Duke put her hand on her shoulder, the motion pushing her blazer up, revealing the green and purple ink covering her forearms. The purple confused her before remembering that McNamara preferred to write in purple since yellow didn’t show up well anywhere.

The reminder that the two of them were soulmates, even if they were platonic ones, just pissed her off more. Rolling her eyes, Heather let out a quick “whatever,” and went back to searching for a replacement pair of shoes.

The group was silent as Heather picked out a red pair that was near identical to the old ones. McNamara and Duke gave their usual praises on cue, but it barely fazed her. With a new bag in tow, the three headed to the food court to grab something to eat. The silence persisted through their meal, as Heather played around with her salad using her fork. Across from her, Duke and McNamara kept exchanging glances with one another, their faces shifting as they conversed without speaking.

After one look too many, Heather couldn’t take it anymore. “Would you stop that?!” She growled, the plastic fork bending under her grip.

The two flinched. “Sorry, Heather,” Duke muttered while McNamara stammered, “What did we do?”

“Those looks you’re sharing, the silent soulmate conversation you’re having; just quit it!” Heather stabbed her salad with her misshapen fork. “I don’t need you two rubbing your soulmate connection in my face when mine is a total joke.”

Duke and McNamara’s eyes widened, and Heather realized what she just said. “Forget I said that.”

“Like hell!” Duke said, unusually defiant in the face of the bombshell Heather had just dropped.

“Your soulmate opened your bond?” McNamara exclaimed. “Heather, that’s great!”

“Does this have to do with why you needed my pen last night?”

“How did it happen?”

“Do you know who it is?”

“Keep your voices down!” Heather hissed. “Are you trying to tell all of Ohio?!”

The two quieted but looked to Heather, their eyes full of questions. Heather pinched the bridge of her nose. There was no escaping this now.

“First off, yes, my soulmate opened the bond last night. Yes, that’s why I needed your pen, and no, I don’t know who the fuck it is.”

“I don’t get it,” McNamara said, a confused look on her face. “You should be happy. When Heather opened our line, it was one of the greatest things that’s ever happened to me.”

“Well, Heather didn’t open the bond with ‘fuck Heather McNamara,’ now did she?” Heather bit out.

“Wait, your soulmate said that to you? That’s how they opened the line?” Duke’s nose curled. “What kind of sorry excuse for a Writer are they?”

“A shitty one. They wouldn’t even tell me who they were or apologize for what they wrote.”

“What a dick,” Duke said, crossing her arms.

“Wait, how did you go about it?” McNamara asked. “What did you say back after they opened the line?”

Heather looked around, taking note of the crowded food court. “Not here. Let’s go to the car.”

Understanding, Duke and McNamara followed her lead back to Duke’s Jeep. Once inside the safety of the car, Heather launched into her tale, telling of her soulmate’s rude answers and complete lack of respect.

“Heather,” McNamara said after Heather finished her story, “I mean this in the best way, but don’t you think he may have been more likely to say something about himself if you had been a bit nicer?”

Heather gave her an exasperated look. “Nice? He insulted me! Why the hell should I be nice to him after that?!”

“Because he’s your soulmate?” Heather raised her eyebrows to enhance her exasperated expression. “Because he might be more open to revealing who he is if you’re not attacking him?”

“I mean, look at it from his perspective,” Duke said, a nervous look on her face as she backed up her soulmate. “He’s been writing to someone his entire life with no response. He had no idea who was on the other side. There’s no way he could have known it was you. He could have thought you were someone entirely different and just needed to vent or something.”

Heather scoffed. “And venting equals telling me to fuck off?”

“We’re not excusing what he said,” McNamara said quickly, putting her hands up in the same placating position as before. “We’re just saying that if you want to get any answers out of him, being nice is probably going to work better than attacking him, especially since he’s already mad at you enough to write that on his arm.”

Heather crossed her arms over her chest and averted her eyes. She knew they were right, but there was no way in hell that she was going to let an insult like this pass. “I don’t care if he didn’t know it was me. I’m not going to be nice to him until he apologizes and that’s that.” She shot a glare at Duke. “Drive us back to my house. We’re playing croquet there today.”

“Yes, Heather,” Duke replied, seeming to understand that the conversation was over.

From the back, Heather could hear McNamara sigh quietly.

* * *

Veronica woke on Monday morning to her alarm clock ringing like execution bells. She glared at the bright red numbers before shutting off the hellish noise. Taking a deep breath, she removed her covers and sat up. On instinct, she moved to grab her pen and write her daily morning message to her soulmate, like she had done for years, before she caught herself, remembering who her soulmate was. She got out of bed and moved to get ready. Today was the day.

Over the weekend, Veronica had nearly broken down and apologized to Heather several times, one time going as far as to get in her car, keys in hand. But she had persisted, and now, she was going to have to face the consequences of her actions.

Looking through her closet, she tried to figure out what she should wear to school, mindful of the fact that she needed to hide as much skin as possible on her arms. She was going to have to be extra cautious with what she wore from now on. If Heather saw even a hint of her words on her arm, it was over, not that she or Heather had messaged one another since the blowout on Saturday morning. She was going to have to take so many precautions. Wearing long sleeves or blazers were now a must and she was going to have to put concealer over the back of her hands lest Heather try to write there.

It all seemed like a big hassle; how did Heather do this every school day? Knowing the truth now, she was a little hurt that Heather went through all this trouble to hide her messages. Did she not care about all the things she had written for her? Like her daily messages that she had written just to put a smile on her soulmate’s face? Was she just some dirty little secret that Heather wanted to hide away and pretend didn’t exist?

Pushing the thought away, she looked herself over. Her hair was styled nicely, and she was dressed in the clothes she had become accustomed to as one of the Heathers, with her favorite blue blazer covering her arms. After all, she had to look her best when walking to her doom. In a spare bag, she packed an extra set of clothes. She doubted she would need them, but she wanted to be ready for anything, still unsure of how today was going to go down. With everything in order, she took a deep breath and headed downstairs. It was time.

* * *

Veronica pulled into her old parking spot, which was far enough from the Heathers’ spots that she felt she had a little breathing room. A feeling of dread had been building in her stomach during the entire drive to school, moving restlessly in her gut. While parked a fair distance from where Heather parked her Porsche and where Duke parked her Jeep, their spots were still in sight and they were both blissfully empty. Her shoulders lost a bit of their tension as she quickly grabbed her things. Maybe she could make it to her locker and to her homeroom before they got here. They couldn’t do anything too bad if she was already in class and under the supervision of a teacher.

As she walked through the front doors, people turned their heads in her direction and whispers started to fill the air. She walked fast, trying to maneuver to her locker using the quickest path she could think of. While people were pointing, no one was doing anything beyond that.

‘They’re waiting for the Heathers,’ Veronica knew. She had no doubt the majority of the student body knew about what had transpired at the party. But none knew what happened in the days after, if Heather had forgiven her and they had made amends or if things remained the same. No one was willing to risk Heather’s wrath if the former was the case.

She couldn’t avoid the consequences of the party all day, she thought as she opened her locker and threw her stuff in, grabbing the things she needed for her morning math class. She was only postponing the inevitable. She slammed her locker shut and booked it as fast as she could while keeping her pace technically a walking speed. She could only hope that Heather wouldn’t be as cruel as she was capable of being.

As she turned into the hallway bearing her destination, a foot shot out from her right, catching her legs. Veronica fell, her materials spewing across the hallway floor. Laughter broke out around the hall and Veronica flushed in humiliation. She looked up from her place on the floor and saw that the foot belonged to Kurt. Looking ahead, she found the Heathers, perfectly positioned to block her passage to her homeroom. McNamara looked uncomfortable from her place in the back, but the same could not be said about the other two. Duke looked like Christmas had come early, while Heather looked down at her with a vindictive smile.

“Well, if it isn’t the vomit queen herself,” Heather said, her upbeat tone not matching the ice behind her eyes.

So much for her hopes and dreams. She looked up at her in defiance. “Heather.”

Heather gave a humorless laugh. “You must have really been desperate for your return to nerd city, Ronnie. And far be it from me to stand in your way.” She turned her attention to the audience that had gathered. “Careful to stay out of her way, everyone; you never know when she might hurl.”

She turned her attention back to Veronica. For a moment, she looked like she was thinking up another insult, but as they held eye contact, something shifted on Heather’s face that Veronica couldn’t read. Before she could try and figure out what it was, it was gone, and Heather’s expression reverted to what it had been before.

“Enjoy being a social outcast,” Heather said, before moving to leave.

Heather sauntered off with the other Heathers trailing behind her, kicking Veronica’s folder as she passed and causing the papers to go flying. Laughter erupted from the crowd and Veronica’s already hot face grew hotter. They disappeared around the corner, Kurt and Ram in tow, while the remainder of the audience made vomiting noises in Veronica’s direction as they dispersed. She set to work grabbing her papers, trying to tune them out.

She reached for a page, only to find a smaller hand reach it first. Looking up, Veronica saw Betty Finn giving her a sympathetic smile, her eyes kind behind the thick frame of her glasses. They didn’t say anything as Veronica reached out to her for a hug, her childhood friend reciprocating immediately. Veronica took a deep breath and held on tight.

Betty patted Veronica’s back. “Doing ok, Veronica?”

Veronica released her and gave a small smile. “Better now. Thanks Betty.”

“Of course.” The two set to picking up the papers again. “That was really crappy of Kurt to just trip you like that.”

Veronica sighed. “I’m not exactly surprised. Honestly, I expected way worse than what happened.”

Another hand reached for one of her papers. Recognizing the trench coat attached to it, Veronica shot JD a smile.

“What, did you expect her to beat you up?” He asked, getting to work.

“Well, no; that’s not her style. More along the lines of her sending my soul to some hell dimension.”

JD snorted while Betty laughed. “Please, she wishes she had that power.”

JD held out his free hand to help her up and Veronica accepted, coming back to her feet. “True,” she replied, taking her things from their outstretched hands. “She would totally abuse that power if she had it.”

“Veronica!” Martha joined them from the opposite side of the hall. “Are you ok? I heard about what happened.”

Veronica nodded. “I’ll live. Thanks Martha.”

“Look, the Vomit Queen’s with Martha Dumptruck!” someone yelled, and the laughter from before broke out again.

Veronica sighed. “Come on, we should probably get to class.” She looked to Betty. “See you next period?”

Betty nodded. “Of course. I’ll save you your old seat.”

“Thanks,” Veronica smiled.

As Betty walked to her class, Veronica turned to JD. “Thanks for your help. Do you wanna sit with us at lunch? Or would you rather keep doing your whole lone wolf thing?”

JD smiled that cool smile that made Veronica’s heart flutter. “I’ll take you up on that offer, Sawyer.”

Veronica’s smile grew a little brighter. “Cool.”

JD left for his class, leaving Martha and Veronica alone. Martha sighed dreamily as they headed to their homeroom. “I see your point, Veronica,” she said. “I can see why you wanted it to be him.”

The reminder of soulmates, and who hers actually was, wiped the smile off her face. “Yeah, I really, really did.”

* * *

Heather’s day had been a mixed bag so far. It had started off on a rough note, her arm still bare, no morning message to greet her just like the last two days. Her sour mood persisted all the way until she had gotten to school, parking in her usual spot beside Duke, who had just pulled in as well, McNamara in the passenger seat. As she unbuckled, she caught sight of Veronica rushing through the door, her backpack hanging on by one strap.

Seeing the traitor who hadn’t even come to apologize had given her something to focus on, something she latched onto without a second thought. Watching Veronica stumble over Kurt’s outstretched leg just before her destination had given her some cruel satisfaction, as had seeing the humiliation coat her face. But something about the way Veronica had glared up at her, her dark locks framing her face perfectly, had shaken her and Heather had wanted nothing more than to get away from the situation as quickly as possible.

As she had walked off, she had cursed herself. She hadn’t savored the look on Veronica’s face, hadn’t ripped her to pieces like she had wanted to. All she had done was given the student body free reign to mock her. Sure, publicly ousting her had given her a small feeling of vindication, but she could have, should have been a lot harsher. She should have insulted her more, made her feel truly low for her actions at the party. But instead, she had done the bare minimum.

Now, here Heather was, in the cafeteria, glaring over at Veronica’s table where she ate with Martha Dumptruck, loser Betty Finn, and the new trench coat kid who had beaten up Kurt and Ram the other day. Veronica looked completely unaffected, even smiling one of those smiles that enhanced all of her features, and it made Heather livid. She should be dejected, depressed, eating alone in the corner of the cafeteria, instead of carrying on like nothing happened.

Heather stabbed her fork in her food and took a bite. Duke and McNamara were talking about something inconsequential, something that didn’t concern her. Usually, when this happened, she would just talk to Veronica about the lunchtime poll. Then, Veronica would say something snarky about Heather needing to branch out her results, and then they would banter throughout the rest of the lunch period. Heather wished…

‘No,’ Heather chastised herself. She did not miss Veronica. Veronica was the reason she wasn’t sitting with them, not Heather. Veronica is the one who threw Heather, threw them, away.

A round of laughter from across the cafeteria pulled Heather’s attention back to the present. She looked for the source and saw that the contents of Veronica’s food tray had been flipped onto her, now coating the blue blazer that Heather had bought for her, her expression one of disgust. Kurt gave Ram a fist bump as they walked away as Heather smiled vindictively as she watched Veronica flick some of the food off of her.

Veronica looked up and their eyes met from across the room. The disgust melted off her face and shifted into an expression that contained an equal measure of hurt and anger. Heather held her gaze for a moment before looking away, the uneasy feeling from earlier returning and settling in her stomach. As the laughter died down, Heather chanced a look and saw that Veronica was gone, her nerd table empty. Heather crossed her arms. Whatever this thing she was feeling was, she needed it to stop, now. She turned her attention back to Duke and McNamara.

“I feel bad,” McNamara said, looking at the door where Veronica had exited, her expression downcast.

“Please, she’s hardly the first person who Ram’s spilled food on,” Heather said dismissively, trying to appear nonchalant. “It’s not newsworthy for a nerd to get what’s coming to them.”

“Yeah, but this is Veronica,” she said, as if that would explain everything. “She’s our friend.”

“_Was_.” Heather corrected, gritting her teeth. “Was our friend. She did this to herself.”

“But-”

“Drop it, Heather,” she spat.

McNamara’s shoulders slumped at the order that was usually reserved for Duke, and her downcast expression became more prominent. “Sorry, Heather,” she muttered as she turned her focus back to her food.

Heather looked away and observed the rest of the student body. Looking for something to think about other than Veronica, her thoughts unfortunately landed on the other person she wanted to forget about: her soulmate. He could be sitting somewhere in the cafeteria right now and she wouldn’t even know who he was. Heather debated whether she should just draw a line down her face and find the matching line among her fellow students, but decided against it. It would make her look desperate, and that just wouldn’t do. She had an image to maintain and appearing needy would only hurt it. Heather stabbed her food again. She hated not being in control, especially with this. Her soulmate held all the cards, and for once, there was nothing she could do about it.

* * *

“Ok, explain to me again why we’re having this conversation at a 7/11 of all places.” Betty said, an exasperated expression on her face.

“Because it’s amazing,” JD replied, as if the answer were obvious.

“It’s a convenience store. Where anyone can walk into. Is this really the best place for a conversation about something you wanted to keep secret?”

“All the Heathers go to the one on the other side of town,” Veronica replied while she prepared her cherry Slurpee. “So do Kurt and Ram and anyone else who might report to the Heathers. We should be fine.”

“Really, cherry again?” JD asked. “You’ve gotta expand your palette, Sawyer.”

Veronica put a cap on her Slurpee. “Cherry’s the best and I won’t hear any arguments.”

Veronica’s day had not been as terrible as she had feared it would be. Besides Kurt tripping her in the morning and Ram flipping her full lunch tray on her, everything else had been what she considered to be pretty standard fare. People had mocked her throughout the day and said petty comments to her, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. It came off more annoying than truly hurtful. Someone _had_ defaced the outside of her locker during lunch, when she was changing into the spare clothes she had brought, writing “Vomet Queen” with red paint, but Veronica had been more concerned at someone at high school level misspelling the word “vomit” to care that much.

Veronica attributed the favorable conditions to Heather, in an ironic twist of fate. Besides their morning encounter, Heather had been avoiding her. She had swapped seats in the one class they shared so that she was sitting as far from Veronica as possible and had refused to meet her eyes, averting her glare when Veronica noticed or when she stared back like in the cafeteria. For someone who had threatened that no one would play reindeer games with her after she was through, Heather sure wasn’t doing all that much.

Veronica took a sip of her Slurpee after paying for it. “Ah. Sweet, sweet cherry.”

“Not to be rude,” Martha said, taking a sip from her 7-Up, “but shouldn’t we talk about what we came to talk about? I have to babysit my neighbor’s son in an hour.”

“Right,” Betty agreed. “What exactly is this big secret that you couldn’t tell me while we were at school?”

“Right, sorry.” Veronica put her cup down on the counter beside her.

She launched into her tale as she had with JD and Martha, summarizing her night as best as she could. She watched as shock blossomed on Betty’s face in the same way as it had on the other two.

“Wait, so you’re bonded with… holy shit,” Betty said, running a hand through her hair.

“You can see why I didn’t want to say anything where someone could overhear and tell her.”

“Yeah, damn. Are you going to tell her?”

“Not… yet.” Veronica admitted. “JD came up with the idea that I could mess with her a bit by making her figure it out on her own.”

“Hmm, that makes sense, making her work for it,” Betty said, trailing off like she usually did when she was about to make a counterpoint.

Veronica sighed. “But?”

Betty gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I’m not taking Heather Chandler’s side or anything, but as a Receiver, that’s gotta suck for her.”

“What do you mean?” Martha asked, intrigued.

“Well, you and Veronica, you’re Writers. I don’t know about you, JD…”

“Guilty,” he confirmed.

“Right, so you guys don’t have the knowledge of what it’s like to be a Receiver: to have this person you don’t know, but you’re destined to be with in some way, write messages to you your entire life, even though they know they won’t get a response. We all dream of our soulmate writing our names so that we can finally talk back. So, for Heather, to have had her bond opened like that… I can understand why she reacted the way she did.” Betty adjusted her glasses. “If you’re going to go through with this, you should be careful. If she finds out it’s you, especially after this weekend, she might actually destroy you. And not in the way she did today. Like, actually eviscerate you.”

“Well, even if I don’t go through with it,” Veronica noted, fiddling with her straw, “she’s going to destroy me.”

“Hmm,” Martha said. “Maybe not.”

Veronica raised an eyebrow. “Explain.”

“Well, you could always start talking to her. I mean, she’s awful, but if you get to know each other, maybe it’ll soften the blow, you know?”

“That’s not bad, Martha,” Betty agreed. “You don’t have to tell her who you are, but getting to know one another could definitely help out when everything comes out.”

“I think I know Heather pretty well, all things considering. I mean, I was apart of the Heathers for a solid month and a half.”

“Maybe, but do you really know her, know her, or just the surface level stuff that you needed to know to be a successful minion?”

“Hey,” Veronica pouted. “I was not a minion.”

“Semantics,” Betty waved her hand. “But honestly, did Heather open up, like emotionally, at all?”

Veronica bit her lip. She couldn’t exactly refute that. The truth was, she didn’t really know Heather aside from the shallow, vicious façade she put up. She knew enough to know the shallowness was a façade, but Heather had never shared anything too personal. Like her soulmate. She kept everything not pertaining to school or popularity close to her chest.

Martha nodded, taking Veronica’s silence as an answer. “Look at it this way, this is your chance to know each other as soulmates, rather than as Heather Chandler, demon queen, and Veronica Sawyer, ex-Heather. And when it all comes out, you’ll have that to fall back on and calm the rage she’s sure to unleash.”

“You know,” JD said, speaking up, “they bring up a good point. I still think it would be more fun to watch her stumble around blindly in the dark. But at least this way, if things go south, you’ll have blackmail material.”

Martha groaned while Betty shrugged in a way that said, he’s got a point.

Veronica took a sip of her Slurpee as she thought it over. It wasn’t a terrible addition to the plan. She was dead in the water right now, with nothing to protect her when Heather’s wrath was sure to crash down on her, and this would help cushion the blow. Plus, she would get to know who Heather really was. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, there was a part of her that was curious if Heather was truly that awful at her core, or if it was all just an act.

There was just one problem, the same one that had plagued her since this plan was conceived. If she wanted to get to know Heather, or do anything with the plan, she was going to have to talk to her.

‘And if Saturday morning was any indication,’ she thought, looking at her covered arm, ‘that wasn’t going to be easy.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry for the wait. This section of the story along with the next chapter are probably the least fleshed out parts on my outline so it took a bit to try and get from point a to point b, especially with Heather not wanting to cooperate with what I needed her to do. I set up the description of my writing sideblog on tumblr to help keep track of where i'm at writing wise since my schedule irl is kind of hectic. I work on it when I can and I try to update the description when I do. If you want to follow that or ask me any questions about the story that aren't too spoilery, my writing blog is lsfrevanfan.tumblr.com! I'm hoping to get the next chapter out in a more timely manner!  
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!


	3. what do you say to taking chances?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heather and Veronica break the ice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold Text: Veronica’s messages  
Bold Italics Text: Heather's messages

Heather sulked during her first period, Duke seated at the desk to her left taking notes. Her soulmate still hadn’t contacted her, leaving her arm bare of any messages. While she didn’t want to be the one to crack first, the radio silence was getting to her. Ever since elementary school, her soulmate had always given her some form of message in the morning, whether it was just a quick ‘I hope you have a nice day,’ or some joke he found funny. They were a constant: something that would never fail to give her some feeling of happiness, even if her day was going terribly.

‘Fuck it,’ Heather thought.

Looking around to make sure no one was paying her any attention, she grabbed her pen, pulled up her red blazer just enough that it wasn’t suspicious, and wrote.

** _So are your daily messages history now?_ **

Heather wanted to add an insult, something to grab his attention, but McNamara’s words from the weekend came back to her. She scowled. She still didn’t want to be nice, but she guessed she could find some middle ground by not outright attacking him. She pushed her sleeve down. Now, it was his move.

* * *

Veronica doodled in the corner of her notebook as her math teacher droned on in the background about limits. It’s not that she didn’t want to pay attention, but math had never been her strong suit. She was glad that she shared the class with Martha, as it had always come easier to her.

Plus, it was hard to focus when she was wrestling with the problem of how to break the ice with Heather after the disaster that was Saturday morning. She had tried to think up potential methods all night, listing them out in her diary, but had come up with nothing that seemed good enough.

She was finishing up a spiral when she felt the now familiar, cool sensation break out on her left forearm. Veronica froze, stopping mid-stroke as her gaze fell to her blazer. Shit. She hadn’t expected Heather to write back first. Her curiosity gnawed at her. Should she risk a peek? She wanted to read it, but was it safe to? Would someone see what she was doing and connect the dots? It was doubtful, but considering she was the focus of gossip right now with the aftermath of the party, anything she did might draw someone’s attention. They might not put two and two together, but all it would take was one person to mention to one of the Heathers that she was getting soulmate messages for her to be found out.

Was this a rational way of thinking, considering most people probably wouldn’t care? No, not really. Was she being paranoid? Most definitely. But Veronica was not about to risk this getting out.

The bell rang, saving her from her overthinking. Saying a quick goodbye to a confused Martha, she walked as fast as she could without being too suspicious. From her time in the group, she knew that the Heathers usually met in the bathroom on the second floor around this time to touch up their makeup. Luckily, her next class was on the first, leaving the bathroom on that floor safe.

With the stall locked safely behind her, she pulled up her sleeve and saw Heather’s loopy script tattooed on her forearm.

** _So, are your daily messages history now?_ **

Veronica frowned. She had expected an insult after how they left things. She hadn’t expected for Heather to actually admit to missing the daily messages, especially considering the lengths she went to hide them. She pulled her marker from her pencil bag.

**Honestly, I didn’t think you’d care**

Veronica waited. She wondered if Heather would actually respond back. After all, she had been bold enough to write her during school hours. Her question was answered a minute later, when a new message from Heather came through.

** _They’re the only consistent thing I’ve gotten from you almost my entire life. Why wouldn’t I care?_ **

Betty’s words from yesterday rang through Veronica’s head as she stared at Heather’s response. Admittedly, before Betty had spoken up, she had never seriously considered how her Receiver would take the messages, only hoping that they would brighten their day. When she found out it was Heather on the other side, she just assumed Heather didn’t care. But here was proof that Heather did, despite the fact that she covered them up. She wanted to ask Heather why she went through so much trouble to hide them if that was the case. Why coat herself with layers of concealer just to hide something she cared about?

But Veronica couldn’t. Only the Heathers knew the true lengths Heather went to cover them up. If she asked, she might as well wear a bright neon sign over her head saying, “It’s me, Veronica! I’m your soulmate!”

Veronica sighed and put her marker to her arm. If she couldn’t ask what she really wanted to ask, she might as well keep things civil.

**I didn’t think about it that way**

**Sorry**

Pushing her sleeve down, she flushed the unused toilet and headed out, washing her hands to keep up the façade. She could only hope that Heather didn’t take it the wrong way.

* * *

Heather was reapplying her makeup, trying to appear unaffected while waiting for a reply to come in. Duke and McNamara were discreetly trying to steal glances her way while applying their blush. They weren’t succeeding at the discreet part, and it was getting on Heather’s nerves. Earlier, as she had been applying her own blush, her soulmate had messaged her back, causing her to drop her brush onto the counter in her surprise. Now she was applying her lipstick, doubtful that a response would come, but hoping that one would anyway. She wanted to actually get something of substance from her soulmate, for him to give some answer as to why she thought he wouldn’t care about the daily messages.

She was about done with her lipstick when she felt the message come in. As it did, she flinched, causing some of the lipstick to go on her cheek.

“Shit!” she exclaimed, grabbing a paper towel to dab the smear away.

Duke and McNamara were on her like vultures.

“Did he reply?”

“What did he say?”

“Personal space,” Heather growled, throwing the paper towel away. “Have you two ever heard of it?”

They backed away, sheepish looks on their faces. “Sorry, Heather,” they said in unison.

Turning her attention back to the matter at hand, Heather turned away from them and the door. Whether they knew about her situation or not, this was still personal, and she didn’t like the idea of them knowing her business before she gave them the okay. Lifting up her blazer, she found his new message, scrawled in his messy handwriting.

**I didn’t think about it that way**

**Sorry**

She narrowed her eyes. “Seriously? That’s your defense?!” she exclaimed, glaring at the blue text.

“Can we see, Heather?” McNamara asked from behind her. “Maybe we can help.”

Heather looked back. The two had abandoned their makeup and were looking at her with barely concealed curiosity. Glancing at the closed bathroom door, she weighed her options before waving them over. They jumped at the opportunity, rushing to her side and looking over her shoulder.

“Hey, that’s not so bad!” McNamara said.

“Not bad?” Heather repeated. “He didn’t even consider my feelings!”

“Yeah, but at least he owned up to it and apologized,” Duke replied.

McNamara nodded, her curls bouncing. “Mmhmm. And now, you guys have had a conversation without yelling, well, arguing with each other. That’s progress!”

Heather turned her head back towards the message. They did have a point. He had apologized, which was something she hadn’t expected him to do after Saturday. She wondered what she should say. How did she follow that up without being overly bitchy? Did she change the subject or just awkwardly reply?

The bell rang and the three of them jumped at the sound.

“Shit,” Duke said, grabbing her things from the counter, “we’re gonna be late.”

“God, I miss when Ver-”

“Don’t!” Heather stopped McNamara mid-sentence. She was already dealing with her soulmate dilemma; she did not need to throw _her_ into the mix.

“Sorry, Heather,” McNamara said, almost on reflex.

“Let’s just go,” Heather conceded, wanting to get away from the conversation as quickly as possible.

The others seemed to agree, as they left the bathroom in silence.

Heather’s classes dragged at a snail’s pace. Her teachers droned on in the background as she tried to figure out a proper response. She kept glancing at her covered arm, as if the action would summon an idea into her head. But nothing came, and Heather’s frustration continued to build.

Second period turned to third, and then to fourth, and Heather still had nothing. She scribbled on the edge of her page, hoping for something to come to mind. But with fourth period’s arrival came another distraction. A very traitorous distraction.

Fourth period was the only class she shared with Veronica.

Yesterday, Heather had forced one of the losers in the back to switch with her so that she wouldn’t have to sit by her. It wasn’t until after everyone had settled in that she realized she hadn’t picked the best spot to try and ignore her. Instead, Heather now had a perfect view of her, at just the right angle to see a bit of Veronica’s face while being out of her main field of vision. At least when they were sitting by each other, Heather could just simply look ahead and the girl would disappear from view. But now, she was constantly there, her dark brown hair falling in front of her face, as she took notes on Ms. Fleming’s lecture, inescapable.

As much as Heather tried to keep her eyes forward, they always seemed to drift Veronica’s way. Heather hated it. She hated how Veronica had become an even bigger distraction than before, and she hated how no matter how hard she tried, she was always aware of her presence.

Tearing her eyes away from Veronica’s note taking, she turned her glare towards her arm. Back to the matter at hand: what did she say next?

She needed an icebreaker, something to change the subject, she decided. If she stayed on the current conversation path, it would just end in an argument. But what should it be? Asking how his day was going? No, that’s lame. Asking something about him? No, he would probably just shut her down. A snarky comment?

She glanced back up at Ms. Fleming. The woman had digressed into one of her many hippie speeches, going completely off topic from Moby Dick and somehow ending up on the Vietnam War protests. As Ms. Fleming rambled on, she smirked.

Snarky comment it was.

* * *

Veronica should have been more confounded over how off topic Ms. Fleming had gotten, but after several weeks of this, she was used to it. If Ms. Fleming was a normal English teacher, she wouldn’t have bothered writing any notes during her tangent, but knowing her, it would probably end up on the test.

As she was writing down notes on Ms. Fleming’s tirade of the Johnson and Nixon administrations, Veronica felt a message come in on her arm. She tensed. She hadn’t expected Heather to write back during this class, or even until after school considering how she didn’t message her back sooner. Veronica wanted to look, to see what Heather wrote, but she was also starkly aware of the fact that Heather was in the same class as her, and that due to her new spot in the back of the class, Veronica was in her direct line of sight. If she so much as peeked at her arm now, she was history.

As the class dragged on, she tried to appear as if nothing had happened, trying to take notes on Ms. Fleming’s tangent. But she couldn’t focus, and ended up writing the same words over and over, Ms. Fleming’s voice becoming white noise as Heather’s message itched beneath her blazer. She looked up every so often at the clock, but each time found that only a minute had passed.

Relief came with the ringing of the bell. Veronica moved as quickly as she could, closing her notebook shut and scooping it into her arms with her other books. She pushed past some of her classmates, ignoring their sounds of protest. She was almost through the door when someone’s shoulder rammed into her. Catching an unmistakable glimpse of red, she turned her head and saw that the shoulder belonged to none other than Heather Chandler herself.

They both froze, their eyes catching. Heather’s neutral gaze turned into a glare, and Veronica found herself mirroring the expression. She didn’t dare to so much as twitch a muscle, waiting for Heather to make the next move. Heather’s eyes just narrowed more, and Veronica’s did the same in response. She tried to convey some of the questions that had been plaguing her into her expression. Do you know it’s me? Do you have any clue? Did I ever matter to you? At all? Or was I just a tool for you to take advantage of, like everyone else in this school?

Something in Heather’s face shifted, like it had the day before in the hallway. And like yesterday, it was gone almost as soon as it appeared. Heather scoffed and averted her gaze. Putting her nose up, she walked away, as if the silent exchange had never happened.

Veronica let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She ran her open hand through her hair. That was… intense.

Someone coughed behind her. Moving her head, she saw that everyone who had been unlucky enough to be stuck behind her were still standing there, frozen, watching her with curious eyes. Even Ms. Fleming was watching from the chalkboard. Heat flushing to her cheeks, Veronica walked away. In that moment with Heather, she had completely forgotten they weren’t the only two people in the school.

Instead of heading to the cafeteria like usual, Veronica headed towards the bathroom again, this time going to the one that was as far from the cafeteria, and her class, as possible. She didn’t want to risk running into Heather, especially after whatever the hell that was, and this was the best way she could think of to avoid her.

Opening the door, she found two freshman-looking girls at the sink, who started whispering as soon as they saw her. Rolling her eyes, she went into the stall, locked it behind her, pushed up her blazer, and read Heather’s newest message.

** _I wish time machines existed so I could drop Ms. Fleming back in the 60s where she so clearly belongs._ **

Veronica stared, trying to find some hidden jab at her encoded in it, but found nothing. The only person it seemed to be insulting was Ms. Fleming. Was Heather actually trying to joke around with her? Veronica could feel the edges of her lips start to form a smile, but the memory of their encounter stopped it in its tracks.

Veronica didn’t want to respond to the message after that. She should just leave Heather hanging and let her figure it out herself, like she had originally planned. But, then again, apologizing earlier had obviously had some kind of impact, since there was no apparent malice in this latest message. Well, at least directed at her. Veronica took a breath. It wasn’t like Heather knew she had written the message to the same person she had shouldered. To her, they were two completely different people. She needed to be the bigger person, like Betty and Martha had suggested.

Grabbing her marker, she quickly scribbled a quick response and flushed the toilet, washing her hands at the now vacant sink.

God, separating these two different relationships with the same damn person was gonna be such a pain.

* * *

Heather had just given the lunchtime poll question to the country club table, with Duke at her side, when she felt a message start to form on her arm. Her eyes widened and she jolted. She turned around, scanning over the cafeteria, looking for anyone writing on themselves. There were the geeks, probably discussing something nerdy like Dungeons and Dragons. There was Veronica’s loser table, which was lacking Veronica herself. There were Kurt and Ram doing some stupid handshake. She saw plenty of people writing on paper, doing homework, but the only person who seemed to be writing on their skin was McNamara, who was waiting for them at their table. Catching Heather’s eye, McNamara waved, her forearm laced in green and purple.

“Everything ok, Heather?” Courtney asked from behind her, no real sincerity in her voice.

Turning her attention back to the present, she saw most of the table giving her confused, yet bored stares, with Duke giving her a questioning one. Courtney, on the other hand, was studying her, looking for weaknesses. Heather pushed aside her curiosity over her soulmate’s identity and forced her walls back up, letting her face harden back to its natural position.

“Very, Courtney, thanks for asking.” Heather smiled a fake smile at her, letting venom seep into her tone.

Courtney seemed to get the message, shifting her gaze. Heather straightened her posture in victory. She turned her attention back to the table as a whole. “Now, back to the lunchtime poll. Thoughts?”

* * *

“Where were you?” Betty asked Veronica as the latter took her seat at the table. “You just missed it!”

“Missed what?” she asked.

“Heather Chandler looking around the cafeteria like a lunatic,” JD answered, taking a bite from his apple.

Veronica raised an eyebrow, fighting a smirk. “Really?”

“Yeah, it was kind of funny,” Martha chimed in. “I’ve never seen her look so rattled.” Martha paused, looking at Veronica in suspicion. “Wait, was that because of…” Martha lowered her voice. “…because of, you know?”

“Shh!” Veronica shushed, fighting the instinct to put her finger to her lips. But she couldn’t keep the smile off of her face.

“Duh!” Betty said, smacking her forehead. “Why didn’t I think of that!”

Veronica looked over at Heather. She was standing by the country club table with Duke, clipboard in hand, looking unaffected and completely normal.

She turned back to the group. “So, did she, um, look anywhere specific?” She asked, trying to be as vague as possible.

“Nah,” JD said. “Just looked over the whole cafeteria, like she was searching for someone.”

‘Someone writing,’ Veronica finished in her head. She felt a small sense of satisfaction that something as small as writing Heather a message had made her lose her composure, if even for a second. She only wished she could have seen it.

“So,” Martha said, “did you take our advice, then?”

“Kind of.” Veronica turned in her seat again towards Heather, who was walking back to her usual table. “Though I didn’t end up having to make the first move after all.”

* * *

After the incident in the lunchroom, Heather didn’t dare look at her arm for the rest of the day. Heather didn’t like it, not at all, but there was no way in hell that she was going to risk her soulmate situation getting out into the public eye. Throughout the rest of her classes, she could feel the message underneath her blazer. It seemed to burn the longer it went unread, though she knew the burning was just her curiosity manifesting itself. What did he write back? Did he ignore what she said and continue on with the previous conversation? Did he insult her? It was mocking her every second that passed.

With the final bell, Heather forced herself to move at a normal pace. At least it was a Tuesday; Duke had a yearbook committee meeting and McNamara had cheer practice. With them gone, she could read her message in peace. She climbed into her Porsche, threw her stuff into the passenger seat, and locked the door behind her. Finally feeling secure, she pushed up her sleeve.

**Please. If time machines existed, do you really think she’d be here teaching when she could be living there forever?**

Heather felt her lips turn upward. He had actually joked back. And in the process had inadvertently answered a question she had been wondering since the bond opened. He did, in fact, go to Westerberg.

Heather ran her fingers over his words. She debated whether she should write a response. ‘No, not yet,’ she thought. She didn’t want to appear too desperate. It was better to let some time pass before restarting the conversation.

Taking one last look at the message, Heather pushed down her sleeve and started her car.

* * *

Veronica sat at her desk, marker in hand and monocle firmly on her eye. She twirled the marker between her fingers. It had been hours since school got out and Heather still hadn’t responded. Given the frequency of the other messages today, she had been led to believe that she would write back sooner, but apparently that wasn’t the case. She bit her lip, staring at her bare arm. What should she do? Should she write back? Should she wait for Heather to respond?

Sighing, she decided it was going to be up to her to break the ice this time. But what to write? Something simple maybe? Yeah, that would work. Something small and breezy.

**So**

**What’s your favorite color?**

Veronica facepalmed the second after she finished the question.

‘Her favorite color?’ Veronica thought. ‘God, I already know that. Everyone at Westerberg knows it’s red. Get your shit together, Sawyer.’

Heather’s response was prompt

** _Is that really the best you can think of?_ **

Veronica flushed. Apparently, Heather knew her question was shit too.

**Maybe**

A beat passed before Heather’s handwriting started to appear once more.

** _It’s red, in case you’re colorblind or something_ **

Veronica adjusted her monocle.

**Not colorblind, just bad at icebreakers**

** _Wow_ **

Veronica sighed. God, this was more awkward than when her parents had taken her to see Rocky Horror.

**Look, can we just call a truce or something?**

** _A Truce?_ **

Veronica could practically hear Heather’s tone of disbelief.

**We both said a lot of stuff we regret**

** _Did we?_ **

Veronica pinched her nose. Heather wasn’t making this easy. It was to be expected, but she didn’t have to like it.

**We’re stuck with each other, like it or not. We might as well be civil**

Heather’s previous messages disappeared from her arm.

** _And who exactly was the one who set the tone of this bond?_ **

Veronica scrubbed all of her previous messages off to make room on her arm.

**It takes two to tango, Heather**

**Neither of us found out about this the way we wanted to**

Veronica took a deep breath before continuing on, not giving Heather time to respond.

**And I don’t want to eternally fight with my soulmate either, so can we please just start over?**

A minute passed. Then another. No response. Veronica threw her monocle and marker onto her desk in frustration. Goddamnit, why did Heather have to be so damn stubborn? She hated having to be the bigger person here.

The feeling of a marker nib writing on her arm returned and Veronica raised it to face level. Around her block of writing, Heather had written her response.

** _Whatever. On one condition_ **

Wiping away her tirade, Veronica picked her marker back up from off the desk.

**What**

** _Tell me why you wrote “fuck Heather Chandler” on your arm that night_ **

Shit. Veronica bit her lip. How did she answer that without giving herself away?

**I was pissed at you**

** _No shit, Sherlock. Why? What did I do to you specifically?_ **

Veronica couldn’t think of a vague enough answer.

**I can’t say**

** _Fine, then fuck your truce_ **

Veronica growled under her breath.

**Look, my answer is no for now. Honestly, I don’t think I want you to know who I am just yet**

** _And how exactly is that fair? You get to know who I am, and I’m left with jack shit_ **

Veronica ran her hand through her hair. That was a fair point, she guessed.

**You’re right, it isn’t. It’s not fair. And I don’t care. Nothing good would come from me telling you, and that’s a promise**

While she was just trying to cover her ass and the plan, Veronica knew there was some truth in her message. If Heather found out now, with their relationship at rock bottom, it would end in misery for both parties.

She felt Heather’s response come in.

** _Fine. I’ll play your little game. But I have a different condition_ **

**I’m seeing a trend here**

** _Shut up_ **

** _If I figure out who you are, you have to tell me when I’m right. Deal?_ **

Veronica nodded, even though she knew Heather couldn’t see her. This was probably the best compromise she was gonna get.

**Deal**

** _Good. Now what’s your favorite color?_ **

What? That was a turn Veronica hadn’t seen coming.

**Huh?**

** _I told you mine. You tell me yours. _ **

** _Or am I not allowed to ask questions now?_ **

Veronica rolled her eyes but scribbled back an answer.

**It’s blue**

There was no response. After ten minutes, Veronica gave up waiting, putting her marker away and grabbing her diary. She secured the monocle back onto her face and began to write her entry for the day.

It wasn’t until she was getting into bed for the night when she felt Heather’s response come in. Before turning off her lamp, she looked at the single word on the front of her wrist, the red text waving over her veins.

** _Noted._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! After getting a better sense of my writing speed, I think bi weekly updates are probably going to be the norm, so I'll try to keep to that as my deadline from here on out. I might put out stuff early if I have something fleshed out more in my outline, but I hope to get new chapters out in that timeframe of two weeks.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. you are not alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time passes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold Text: Veronica’s messages  
Bold Italics Text: Heather's messages
> 
> Trigger Warning: implied offscreen attempted noncon
> 
> I don't plan on ever describing the scene in question, or going into details, but it is implied nonetheless

About two weeks had passed since Heather’s soulmate had opened the bond, and the two of them were slowly getting on better terms, despite getting off on the wrong foot. While their conversations had been stilted at first, they started to learn more about one another. Continuing the trend set on that first night by him, asking questions about one another served as a constant icebreaker. They were usually something small, something on the same level as that first question about Heather’s favorite color, such as what their favorite book or movie was. Heather wanted to ask something more revealing, something more personal, but she didn’t want to risk an argument or him shutting her out, since he seemed dead set on keeping his identity a secret. Still, the lack of information gnawed at her, and despite herself, she found herself longing to know more.

When she wasn’t focused on finding out more about her soulmate, other things tended to catch her attention. It had also been two weeks since Veronica had been kicked out of the Heathers, and two weeks since she had rejoined her loser gang of misfits without even trying to reconcile with her. Her absence from the group stood out like a black hole. It shouldn’t have made that much of a difference; Veronica wasn’t even apart of the Heathers that long, having been a member for less than two months. But her presence must have made a bigger impact than Heather had realized. The balance of their dynamic had been flipped by their fourth member, and now that she was gone, it struggled to regain its alignment.

More often than not, Heather would find herself looking over at Veronica’s table. Sometimes, Veronica would just be talking. But others, she was laughing, a huge smiling lighting up her face as the trench coat kid smirked beside her. Sometimes, Heather would catch Veronica staring in her direction, and sometimes Veronica would catch Heather. But whichever the case, they always looked away.

It was exhausting, avoiding Veronica. Now that some time had passed, Veronica had faded back into obscurity as their peers moved on to something more interesting, depriving Heather of the small pleasure she’d gotten from watching her be mocked. Heather didn’t know what to do. She needed to do something, something to make Veronica’s life miserable, to make her sorry for not even attempting to apologize, but any course of action meant interacting in some form of fashion with the other girl, and Heather would rather avoid that. They were stuck at an impasse, both ignoring the other’s presence and acting like the previous month and a half hadn’t happened.

Dealing with her soulmate, while initially awkward and cumbersome, had become easier, so he became a welcome distraction to fill the void of Veronica’s presence. In addition to the questions, her soulmate had restarted the daily messages. Most of the time, they came in the morning, sometimes during lunch as well. They were never anything that would prompt a conversation. Like before, they were jokes or quotes he found amusing or relevant. Now that the bond was open though, she usually left a small comment, such as saying the joke was funny or that the quote was too pretentious.

They saved the messages that would prompt a conversation for night, where there were no social barriers to stop them from responding. Like the talk they were having now, after Heather had asked him what type of music he liked.

** _Country music? Are you kidding me?_ **

**Look, I never said it was my favorite. I just said I liked it**

Heather scrunched her nose. How could he not see how awful of a trait that was?

** _No, you said your favorite types of music were rock, country, and pop_ **

** _Implying that it’s your second favorite type of music_ **

**Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic?**

Heather scoffed.

** _I don’t know if we should talk anymore_ **

Putting down her marker for a moment, Heather adjusted her hair, the last part she needed to complete for her Madonna costume. Tonight was the Remington Halloween party and she needed to look her absolute best. She wished McNamara, or even Duke, was going with her, but both were preoccupied with family plans and couldn’t go. Originally, Heather had planned to go with Veronica. Kurt and Ram’s party was supposed to be her warm up, her formal introduction to the party scene with the Heathers, so that she’d be ready for a Remington party. But that plan was officially down the drain now.

She felt her soulmate’s response come in. Satisfied with her hair, she looked down.

**Come on**

**It’s just music**

Heather rolled her eyes.

** _Fine, whatever. Listen to your terrible music_ **

** _It’s not like I have to hear it_ **

Instead of a written reply, he drew a face with a tongue sticking out. Heather smiled.

** _Bad music taste aside_ **

** _Don’t message me the rest of the night_ **

A beat passed before a message came in.

**Why? If you don’t mind me asking**

** _Going to a party_ **

** _I don’t exactly feel like flashing our conversations for the world to see_ **

It was a minute before he responded.

**Ok**

**Good night, Heather**

Her smile softened, just a tad.

** _Night_ **

With that, his messages disappeared, clearing her skin of any trace of his writing. Heather sighed as she wiped away her own. She hated having to erase them so soon, but she wasn’t about to let anyone at the Remington party see them.

Satisfied with her hair, Heather walked over to her bed and grabbed the notebook she’d started keeping off of the night stand. Her soulmate had made it clear that she was going to have to figure out his identity herself, and considering that he didn’t seem to be budging, that was what she was going to have to do. She started keeping notes, any hints or clues that might help her figure out who he was. Duke and McNamara had been helping, with her permission, but the three of them were coming up with nothing. Heather opened to the latest page and looked over the information she’d collected.

  * Goes to Westerberg
  * Was at Kurt and Ram’s party
  * Knows who Ms. Fleming is enough to joke about her
  * Favorite color is blue
  * Loves horror movies
  * Favorite slushee flavor is cherry
  * Doesn’t like corn nuts
  * Favorite book is _The Shining_

Heather quickly scribbled in a new addition.

  * Favorite type of music is rock music, but likes country (deal breaker?)

All in all, Heather didn’t have that much to go on. Blue was a popular favorite color, and plenty of guys liked horror movies. Sure, they might end up being helpful clues later on, but now, when she had no physical traits to go on, she was shooting in the dark. The only thing that truly narrowed down her search was that he went to Westerberg, but even that was useless when he was evading her at every turn.

Closing her notebook, she put it back on her night stand. Taking one last look in the mirror, she headed downstairs, through her empty house. It was time for the party.

* * *

“You know, Ronnie,” Betty said, her mouth full of popcorn and M&Ms, “you’re kind of a dead ringer for Lydia.”

“So you’ve said many times,” Veronica answered, throwing a kernel at her, “and as I’ve said many times, I don’t see it.”

Veronica, Betty, and Martha were having their usual movie night at Martha’s place, the couch cushions and pillows arranged to make a fort, with sheets acting as a roof. With Halloween being the upcoming Tuesday, they’d decided to watch movies more suited for the season. Much to Veronica and Betty’s dismay, however, Martha had used her hostess status to veto all horror movies. So instead of watching slasher movies such as Halloween and Friday the 13th, they were watching Beetlejuice, with Ghostbusters coming up next.

“I don’t know,” Martha added in. “The resemblance _is _a bit uncanny.”

“Get real, I’d never wear that much goth stuff.” She threw a kernel at Martha too, who used a spare pillow as a shield.

“You as a goth? I’ve thought of stranger things than that,” Betty said.

Veronica rolled her eyes. She would have thrown another kernel, but it was just getting wasteful at this point. She looked to her arm. It was still bare, no trace of Heather’s writing. It was to be expected, but Veronica had grown so used to having something written on her arm that it seemed barren without any marks.

The last two weeks had been almost nice on the soulmate front. Sure, her and Heather weren’t speaking to one another in school, but over the bond, things were going fine, which is way more than Veronica had expected. Heather actually seemed to be putting an effort into getting to know her. Whether it was because she was just trying to figure out her identity or because she was genuinely curious, Veronica didn’t know, but it was nice to get to know more about Heather outside of their school identities.

She had already known Heather’s favorite type of music, pop music like Madonna, and that her favorite snack was corn nuts, but she hadn’t known that Heather enjoyed history, or that her favorite book was _The Outsiders_. She had learned that Heather’s favorite slushee flavor was blue raspberry and that she loved drama movies. They were little things, nothing too personal, but it was still something new about the person she was stuck with for the rest of her life.

“Anything new from Westerberg’s demon queen?” Betty asked. “You’ve been glancing at your arm all night.”

Veronica moved her arm away. “No, nothing. She’s at a party.”

“One of Kurt and Ram’s?” Martha asked. “I didn’t think they were throwing one tonight.”

“Not that we’d be invited,” Betty muttered.

“Nah, I think it’s a Remington party. She mentioned something about it a few weeks ago.”

“God, I’d love to go to one,” Betty said. “They say Remington parties are on a whole other level.”

“Mmm,” Veronica answered, her mind somewhere else.

They had been playing croquet in her backyard when Heather had first brought up the subject.

“Kurt and Ram’s parties are fun and all, but anyone who’s anyone goes to the Remington parties,” she had said, leaning on her mallet.

“I’ve heard of them,” Veronica answered, watching Duke take her shot. “Everyone’s heard of them. They’re practically legend.”

“Quite. They’re having their annual Halloween party a few Saturdays from now.” Heather smirked. “Now that you’re with us, it’ll be a chance to let you truly shine.”

Of course, that was out the window now considering Veronica had been exiled. She wondered how it was going. What was it like? Was Heather having fun? Was she dancing with some guy? Were her and the other Heathers having the time of their lives getting wasted?

Veronica shook her head. Now was not the time to be thinking about Heather. She was here to have a good time with her friends. She turned her attention back to the movie, studying the teen actress on the screen. She squinted her eyes.

“You guys are blind. I still don’t see it,” she said.

A pillow hit the back of her head. Veronica smiled.

* * *

Two movies later, Martha and Betty were passed out on the floor, surrounded by the pillows and sheets that once made up their fort. Veronica was wrapped in her own bundle, swaddled in blankets. She was almost asleep, nice and warm, her stomach full of junk food.

A cool sensation broke out on her arm and she moaned quietly. She had been so close to sleep; why did Heather have to message her now? Squinting an eye open, Veronica saw that the clock on the counter read 12:45 am. Groaning, she sat herself up, unraveling herself from her blanket cocoon. Rubbing her eyes, she stood up and tiptoed to the bathroom, careful to avoid Betty and Martha’s sleeping forms as she passed.

Turning on the light as she closed the door behind her, she covered her face, stopping the sudden brightness from blinding her. Feeling that her eyes were safe, she squinted them open, let them adjust, and looked at Heather’s message.

** _Can you distract me?_ **

Veronica frowned. That didn’t sound like Heather. She went to grab her marker from her pocket, only to remember that she was in her pajamas, the marker stored in her bag. Cursing under her breath, she snuck back out and retrieved it, before heading back to the safety of the bathroom.

**Is everything ok?**

Heather’s reply was quick, her handwriting shaky.

** _Please_ **

Veronica’s eyebrows shot up. Ok, something was definitely wrong. Heather never said please, ever, unless it was in a sarcastic way. What should she do? She wanted to know what was wrong, what had happened, but Heather clearly didn’t want to talk about whatever it was. Pushing further was only going to make Heather shut her out. Heather said to distract her. But what would work? It was not the time for jokes, and Veronica was too tired to think of a good one anyway. Maybe something random, like a funny story. She thought back, coming up with an incident that couldn’t be linked back to her.

**When I was 6, I split my pants at the aquarium**

A second passed.

** _What? How?_ **

**I really wanted to see the sting rays**

**I dropped my teddy bear in my excitement**

**When I bent over to pick it up, my too small pants split right down the back**

**My mom had to run up to the gift shop and buy a replacement pair**

** _Wow_ **

They continued on like that for a while, Veronica telling vague stories from her childhood, and Heather giving short, one- or two-word responses. The length of them made Veronica uneasy. Usually, Heather would have more to say, or would at least have something snarky to use as a comeback. The lack of words was unsettling to say the least. After a few more stories, Veronica chanced it.

**Heather, are you ok?**

Heather didn’t respond for a minute.

** _No_ **

Veronica went to write a response, but Heather continued before she got the chance.

** _But I’m better now_ **

Another pause.

** _Thank you_ **

Veronica’s eyebrows shot up again. Heather thanking someone was about as rare as her saying please. What was the appropriate response here? She needed something reassuring, but also not too casual. She wrote the first thing that came to mind.

**Always**

Veronica groaned. What possessed her to write that? It was way too sappy. She was ready for Heather to call her out on it, but a response never came. She waited a few minutes, hoping for any reply at all. Eventually, she sighed, accepting that she wasn’t going to get an answer. As she went to turn out the light, Veronica could have sworn the letters of Heather’s messages had blurred, before disappearing completely.

* * *

Veronica didn’t get a response from Heather for the rest of the weekend. She tried to prompt one, writing her daily morning and evening messages as usual the next day. But Heather never wrote back, even when she tried asking a direct question.

Veronica bit her lip as she walked into school on Monday. She had tried writing again before she left the house, but the results were the same as the previous day. What exactly had happened that night? Did she hurt herself? Did someone hurt her? Would she even show up to school that day?

She got her answer on her way to homeroom. The Heathers walked down the hallway in a unit as usual, Heather Chandler at the front, but the energy was all wrong. While Heather was standing tall, there were bags under her eyes that even her makeup couldn’t mask. Behind her, Duke and McNamara looked uneasy, but there was a hint of worry in their features as they looked to Heather. They didn’t know either, Veronica realized. Whatever happened, Heather was keeping it to herself.

The trio passed her. Heather and Duke looked forward, as if not noticing her, but McNamara glanced her way. She put her hand up as if to wave, but quickly put it back down and continued on, as if remembering herself. Veronica frowned as she watched them walk away.

She sat through her first period, not really paying attention to the lesson, too distracted by what was going on with Heather. Something had happened Saturday night, that much was clear. But what exactly? Had it happened at the party? When she got home? What had shaken Heather so badly that she refused to write back?

“Hey, Betty,” Veronica said as she settled into her second period art class, “during first period, did Heather look off to you?”

“I wasn’t really attention but now that you mention it, she did look a little off.” Betty opened her art portfolio to grab her current project. “Have you,” she gestured towards Veronica’s arm, “you know, asked?”

“I tried, but she won’t answer,” Veronica admitted.

Veronica hadn’t told Betty and Martha about the late-night message on Saturday. It had seemed too personal, too private, to share. Besides, she didn’t think Heather would appreciate her telling anyone.

Class dragged on and eventually fourth period came, though it passed by uneventfully. Veronica saw Heather walk in, still avoiding eye contact with her. The bags under her eyes were still there, but she walked as if nothing was wrong, as if everyone was beneath her. That comforted her a little. At least she was well enough to keep being the mythic bitch of Westerberg.

Instead of paying attention to Ms. Fleming’s lecture, she tried to figure out what to say to Heather over the bond. Regardless of whether Heather was answering or not, she still felt like she should write something. But it had to be just right, not too pushy, but also not too impersonal.

The bell rang and Veronica headed out, sparing a glance Heather’s way. Heather was still at her desk, gathering her things slower than usual. Frowning, Veronica looked away, not wanting to be caught staring.

Instead of heading to the cafeteria, Veronica headed back to the far bathroom. Besides leaving the building, it was the safest place to write a message, considering it was so far from Heather’s usual route. Opening the door, she saw that it was blissfully empty, all stalls open and no one at the sink. Not wanting to take any chances in case someone walked in, she headed into one of the open stalls and closed the door behind her. Pushing up the sleeve of her sweater, she wrote the message she had been composing most of fourth period.

**Hey**

**I know you’re probably tired of me asking if you’re ok**

Veronica heard the bathroom door open. ‘Guess the stall was a good idea after all,’ she thought. She went back to writing.

**But if you want to talk, I’m here**

Reading it over one last time, she pushed her sleeve back down, satisfied. There: not too pushy, but letting Heather know she could talk to her if she needed to, just the way she had planned it. Taking a breath to center herself, Veronica flushed the toilet and exited the stall.

Looking forward, Veronica froze. She’d been wrong. The far bathroom hadn’t been the safest place after all, because standing at the sink with her back to her was Heather Chandler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween guys! I really wanted to get this out early considering the time frame in story, so I hoped you enjoyed this early update! Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to get the next one up as fast, though I do already have over 1000 words of it written. The next scene was the source of my largest chunk of writer's block when I was outlining the store, to the point where I refer to it as The Hell Scene when I talk about it to my friend. I do feel kind of bad for stopping where I did, but it felt like a natural stopping point.
> 
> Also, I hoped this helped clarify why Heather hasn't figured out it's Veronica yet. I was trying to make her come off as dramatic when I used "noted" to end the last chapter, but I guess I used the wrong choice of words for that. I apologize for giving off the wrong impression.
> 
> With that said, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!


	5. how did you get here under my skin?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heather and Veronica finally talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold Text: Veronica’s messages  
Bold Italics Text: Heather's messages

‘Fuck,’ Veronica thought. ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.’ Out of all the people who could have walked into this particular bathroom, it just had to be her.

Heather was standing at the sink, staring straight into the mirror. She was gripping the counter so tightly her knuckles were stark white. Examining her through the mirror, Veronica saw that she looked upset, as if she could start crying at any moment. Veronica frowned. This was by far the lowest she had ever seen her.

She needed to get out of there, Veronica knew, or hide. She needed to either get out of the bathroom before Heather noticed who else was in the room, or wait it out in the stall until she left. Whichever the case, she needed to move. Now.

Too late. Their eyes met through the mirror. Veronica tensed as Heather transformed before her. Any trace of weakness drained from her face as her expression hardened, her eyes narrowing into slits. She released her grip on the counter and turned towards Veronica, her posture straight, almost no evidence of the sorrow that had just engulfed her seconds ago. The only evidence that remained were the bags under her eyes.

“I thought something was reeking in here,” Heather said, crossing her arms. “I should have known it was the stench of your loserdom.”

Veronica didn’t rise to the bait, more concerned than angry. Seeing Heather so miserable had been unsettling. She needed to be the bigger person here. “Are you okay?”

“What do you care?” she sneered, her lips curled.

Veronica said nothing. She should have known that wasn’t going to work. Heather wasn’t even answering her soulmate. There was no way in hell she was going to open up to her, her ex-best friend.

“Fine,” Veronica conceded, wanting out of the situation, “forget it. I shouldn’t have bothered.”

Veronica turned to leave, but before she could move an inch, she felt Heather grab her left arm, her nails digging into her skin like talons. She flinched, her eyes trailing to the hand. She was hyper aware that the message she had just written was just beneath Heather’s fingertips. Veronica looked up at Heather, whose glare had intensified.

“Don’t pretend you give a single shit about me, Sawyer,” Heather said, her grip tightening with each word. “You clearly never saw me as a friend, so why the fuck would you care about me?”

Veronica gaped, disbelieving. “Are you fucking kidding me?” She wrestled her arm out of Heather’s grip. “I’m not the one who threw the other away like garbage.”

“Bullshit!” Heather exclaimed, her nostrils flaring. “You’re the one who ditched us! You’re the one who said she was tired of us, who puked all over our relationship! You didn’t even try to apologize for what happened!”

Veronica ground her teeth. Oh, fuck this. “I didn’t try to apologize?! You were going to humiliate one of my oldest friends, and you thought I was going to apologize for stopping it?!”

Heather didn’t back down, instead rising to the challenge, her eyes blazing. “Oh, so humiliating Martha Dumptruck is off the table, but humiliating your other friend isn’t?! You puked all over my shoes in front of everyone, all because you couldn’t hold your goddamn alcohol!”

Veronica straightened her back, rising to her full height so she had an edge over Heather. “Seriously? Back to the puke? Get a new insult. Face it, Heather; you’re not mad I puked on your shoes. You’re not mad I embarrassed you. You’re mad that I didn’t kiss your ass like everyone else in this school, and that I had the guts to tell you no for once in your life!”

Heather recoiled like she’d been slapped, her face whitening. Her glare grew lethal as she clenched her fists. “You don’t know shit about me, Veronica,” she said, her voice an octave lower than before.

Veronica tensed. She tried to formulate a response. She opened her mouth, ready to give a retort, when the bathroom door opened. Walking in was a girl that Veronica recognized as one of the gossiping freshmen that she’d seen the other time she had come to this bathroom. The girl stopped in her tracks as she noticed them, her eyes widening. Heather turned her glare onto her, and the girl fled from the room, terror written all over her face. The door slammed shut behind her, leaving the two of them alone again.

They turned back to one another. Veronica noticed that Heather was shaking. It was barely noticeable, but it was there nonetheless. Her frown deepened. What had she said that made Heather that anxious? Had her callout really affected her that deeply?

Veronica sighed. She was tired of fighting with her. “Fine, okay? I’m sorry for assuming,” she conceded. “And hell, sorry for puking on your shoes. But I’m not sorry for helping my friend.”

Heather was silent, her lips thin, but her shoulders less tense. She made no move to reply, instead simply staring back at her. She didn’t look like she intended to give an answer any time soon. Accepting that the conversation seemed to be over, Veronica broke eye contact and turned towards the door, ready to leave. She started walking to the exit, but only made it halfway before stopping. There was a question gnawing at her that she needed the answer to.

“If I had come over that weekend and tried to apologize,” Veronica asked, looking back at her, “would you even have accepted it?”

Heather’s silence was as good as an answer. Veronica watched the same expression she’d seen pass Heather’s face a few times in the last two weeks return, but this time, it lingered. Veronica stared, trying to decode just what Heather was thinking, what she was feeling. The amount of emotion leaking through was more than she was used to seeing on Heather. In her expression, Veronica could see a mixture of anger, pain, longing, and regret. But the most prominent feeling in that melting pot of a look seemed to be… guilt? Did Heather actually feel guilty over what happened?

Regardless, Heather remained quiet, the atmosphere becoming uncomfortable. Veronica accepted that she wasn’t going to get an answer; Heather was too prideful to admit that. She took her cue and continued on towards the door. Her fingers were wrapping around the handle when Heather broke the silence.

“We were supposed to be friends too.”

Veronica dropped her arm and turned back around. “We _were_ friends,” she answered, tired. “And if anyone had dared try to do the same shit to you, Heather, or Heather, that you tried to do to Martha, I would have done the same exact thing. Fuck, I did try to help Duke out when Ram started groping her. She brushed it off, but I still tried.”

Veronica ran her hand through her hair. She was tired of this, tired of fighting. Heather might not accept it, but she should at least try to bring some semblance of peace.

“I am sorry, Heather,” she said, “for puking on your shoes, or making you feel embarrassed, or whatever you want to call it. But like I said, I’m not gonna apologize for helping one of my friends.”

The silence returned, though it felt heavier, the atmosphere more charged. This was going to make-or-break whatever shreds remained of their tattered relationship. It would determine if they could actually coexist with each other, or if they were doomed to this state forever: always fighting or avoiding one another. And it would determine if their soulmate bond could even work once Heather found out the truth.

Veronica didn’t dare move, keeping her posture straight and holding her ground, as she watched an internal battle play out on Heather’s face. Indecision reigned supreme as emotions flew across her expression, fluctuating more than she could keep up with. Veronica was trapped there, stuck waiting for a verdict. Even if she tried to leave, she had a feeling Heather would just rope her back into an argument, or do something else to make her stay. Heather always did like to have the last word, something she tended to forget.

After what seemed like a lifetime, resolution settled on Heather’s face, and her posture relaxed, falling into her normal aloof stance.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she said, waving her hand, not a hint of anger in her voice. “Whatever.” She turned back towards the mirror, grabbing a makeup brush from her bag.

Veronica raised her eyebrows, taken aback. That wasn’t the reaction she had been expecting. Heather should be exploding at her for daring to speak to her that way.

“What?”

Heather started to apply her makeup, looking unfazed, as if the last few minutes hadn’t happened. “It was getting boring thinking of new ways to harass Martha Dumptruck anyway.”

Looking herself over, Heather nodded in satisfaction, stowing her makeup away. Veronica watched in complete and utter confusion. What the fuck was going on? Her eyes followed Heather as she headed past her and towards the door. She stopped at the exit, pausing before turning and facing Veronica. She made eye contact and raised an eyebrow.

“Well?”

Veronica was completely lost. “Well, what?”

Heather rolled her eyes, as if Veronica had just asked the world’s dumbest question. “Stop being a pillowcase and come on.”

Veronica wanted to ask what was going on, but she figured it would be futile at this point. Clearly, Heather was in no rush to explain herself, and the chances that she was going to give her a solid answer was slim to none. The best course of action seemed to be to just do what Heather asked, and hope that she wasn’t being led to her own public execution.

As if sensing Veronica’s compliance, Heather nodded, smirking, and opened the bathroom door. Veronica followed her out, praying she wasn’t walking into a new hell of her own making.

* * *

Veronica walked through the hallway as if in a trance. As she followed Heather’s lead, they passed stragglers in the hall, each double taking at her, before whispering and pointing. She couldn’t really blame them. She still wasn’t entirely sure what was happening, half convinced that she’d wake up in her bed any moment now. It was too surreal, too unrealistic, for it to be anything short of some fever dream her brain cooked up.

They reached the cafeteria and the staring kicked into overdrive. Veronica was aware of many sets of eyes turning towards her, widening as they noticed who she was walking with. Whispers filled the normally boisterous room. Veronica squirmed at having all that attention on her once more. She searched for any source of familiarity, of safety, and found her table. Her friends were gaping at her, looking as confused as she felt. She made eye contact with JD, who mouthed ‘what the fuck’ at her. Veronica shrugged helplessly back, trying to convey her distress as best she could.

They came to a halt at the Heathers’ usual table, the cafeteria quieting, waiting to see how things would unfold. Duke and McNamara stared at them open mouthed. McNamara looked ecstatic, but Duke looked disbelieving.

“What is _she_ doing here?!” Duke asked, gesturing towards Veronica, her expression full of disdain.

“Veronica…” Heather spoke more loudly, as if putting on a show for their student audience. “…is back in the group.”

“What?!” Duke asked, incredulous.

“What?” Veronica echoed, her eyes wide.

Heather put a hand on Veronica’s shoulder and Veronica suppressed a shiver. “After serving her sentence in loserdom, she’s come to her senses, and as such, is back in the group.” Her eyes narrowed. “Is that a problem, _Heather_?”

For a moment, Duke looked as if she might argue, but ultimately dropped her gaze. “No, Heather.”

“Good.”

Heather removed her hand and Veronica felt a breath of relief escape her. Still, she was too stunned to move, frozen in place as she watched Heather sit down in her usual spot, right next to the empty seat. Veronica should say something to Heather, ask something, anything to clarify what was going on. For example, why was she suddenly okay with letting her back in the group? Veronica had just finished arguing with her and basically telling her off. How did that equal a free pass back into the Heathers? She couldn’t fathom what she had said that got her back into Heather’s good graces. She hadn’t held back, so sure that true reconciliation wasn’t an option. She didn’t understand.

But she couldn’t deny that whatever she had said, Heather seemed to be in a better mood than she had all day, the bags under her eyes almost invisible now. She looked as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Maybe Veronica should just go along with it then. While this was far from the outcome she’d been expecting, it seemed to be the best one for all parties involved. And maybe if she rolled with it, she’d eventually get some insight into why Heather had granted her mercy.

Heather looked to Veronica, an expectant look on her face. Realizing the open seat was meant for her, Veronica unfroze and took her place, setting her books down in front of her. As she sat down, life returned to the cafeteria, their peers returning to their business now that the show was over.

McNamara smiled at her. “I’m glad you’re back, Veronica,” she said. “I missed you.”

Veronica gave one back. “Thanks, Heather. Me too.”

Duke rolled her eyes. “Ugh, enough with the sappy stuff.” She looked to Heather, who was checking her nails, a hint of a smile on her face. “Have you gotten any new leads on Mystery Man?”

Heather shot Duke a glare, her expression souring. Veronica raised an eyebrow. “Mystery…Man?”

“You would know if you had been here,” Duke said, a snide tone in her voice.

“Shut up, Heather!” Heather ordered.

“Sorry, Heather.”

“We’ll discuss it after school,” Heather continued. She turned to Veronica, a contemplative look on her face. “You’re smart, maybe you could be the key to figuring it out.”

“O…kay?” She responded, confused.

Mystery Man… did Heather have a secret admirer? Realization hit Veronica like a freight train. She clenched her seat under the table, using every ounce of her self control not to show any outward reaction.

‘Me!’ She thought. ‘They’re talking about me!’

Heather had to be talking about her soulmate. It was the only thing Veronica could think of that Heather would want to keep quiet. She kicked herself mentally. It had occurred to her that Heather might think she was a guy, but she hadn’t realized that Heather had ruled out the possibility that she was a girl. Ultimately, it worked out in her favor, since now she knew she wasn’t even a suspect on Heather’s radar. Veronica was a bit surprised that Heather let McNamara and Duke in on it, though. She had been so private about her soulmate before that she hadn’t even thought of the possibility of her bringing them in on it.

“Now,” Heather said, drawing her out of her thoughts, “let’s discuss the lunchtime poll. The question today is…”

* * *

“Ok,” Martha said as Veronica settled into her place beside her during fifth period study hall, “what the heck happened? One minute, people are talking about how Heather Chandler is murdering you in the bathroom, and the next you’re sitting with the Heathers again.”

“Honestly, I still have no fucking clue,” Veronica admitted. She paused. “Wait, you guys thought she was murdering me? Why?”

“Someone said they saw Heather and you fighting in the bathroom, and it kind of spread like wildfire.”

Veronica remembered the freshman girl who had chosen the wrong time to walk in. “Oh yeah. I forgot someone walked in during that.”

“Veronica, focus.” Martha said. “What happened?!”

“Right, sorry.”

Veronica gave her a rundown of the bathroom encounter, careful to be extra vague about any soulmate matters considering she was back in the public eye.

“And after all that, she let you back in? Just like that?”

“I don’t know why, but yeah. Just like that.”

“Do you think…” Martha looked around to make sure no one was listening in. She lowered her voice. “…do you think she knows?”

“No,” Veronica said firmly, shaking her head. “That wasn’t the vibe I was getting off of her. She let me back in for a reason, but I don’t think that was it.”

“If not that, then what else?”

Veronica bit her lip. “I really don’t know.” She sighed. “Hopefully I can get some answers, or at least some hint when we go over to her house tonight.”

“You’re going with the Heathers tonight?” Martha asked, a strange tone in her voice.

“I guess. Heather said we were going to discuss something after school, so-” Veronica stopped abruptly. She groaned. “Fuck. We had plans tonight.”

“Yeah.” Martha smiled sadly.

With all the worrying over Heather she’d been doing for the last 48 hours, it had completely slipped Veronica’s mind that she was supposed to be meeting the group at 7/11 today. They’d made the plans since JD hadn’t been able to come over to the sleepover on the account of him being a boy, that way he didn’t feel too left out. They’d wanted to do something more, like go to a movie, but both Betty and Martha had commitments later that night, so a 7/11 hangout had been the compromise.

“Shit, I’m so sorry, Martha. I don’t think I’m gonna be able to come.”

Martha’s face crumpled for a second before she tried to recover. “Oh, right. Of course.”

“Hey,” Veronica said, grasping Martha’s hand. “This isn’t gonna be like last time. I promise. Okay? I won’t let it.”

Martha studied Veronica’s face for a moment before nodding. “Okay.”

“Can you let Betty and JD know that we’re gonna have to push it back to tomorrow? I don’t have any classes with either of them for the rest of the day.”

“Right. I can do that.” She got her homework out of her bag. “And Veronica?”

“Yeah?”

“Good luck keeping you-know-what a secret.”

Veronica groaned. “Thanks. God knows I’m gonna need it.”

* * *

“Ok, Heather,” McNamara said as they sat in their fifth period computer class. “Spill.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Heather replied, keeping her eyes forward on her assignment.

“Come on,” McNamara turned in her seat so that she was facing her completely. “You haven’t even let us mention Veronica’s name for the last few weeks, and now you’re letting her back in? Uh-uh. Something happened, so spill!”

Heather resisted the urge to shut McNamara down as efficiently and forcefully as possible. “I already told you at lunch that I decided she spent enough time in loserdom.”

“No, that’s what you told the cafeteria, loudly, so they’d know Veronica was off limits again. All you really said was that she was back in. You didn’t even tell us what ‘coming to her senses’ meant. Heather and I thought you were tearing her a new one, when you guys came walking up to the table together.”

“And who exactly told you that I was tearing her a new one?” Heather asked, raising her eyebrow, finally making eye contact with McNamara.

“Some freshman girl was spreading it around,” she answered, waving her hand dismissively. “But forget that, just what did Veronica do that made you forgive her?”

“Who said I forgave her?”

McNamara shot her a look that said, ‘come on.’

Heather bristled. “Look, the only thing to take away from this is that Veronica is back in, okay? End of story.”

“Whatever you say, Heather,” McNamara answered, giving her a knowing look before turning back towards her computer.

The truth was Heather had no idea what had possessed her to let Veronica back in. By all accounts, she should have ruined Veronica for talking to her like that. Hell, as she had stood there, staring at her, the thought passed her mind many times, in vivid detail. But it had felt good: confronting her, unloading all of her frustrations, voicing things that had been eating at her for the last two weeks. It had been exhilarating when Veronica had argued back, instead of just giving into her like everyone else. It had gotten her mind off of the Remington Party for the first time since Saturday night, and even during the brief time she had flashed back, it had been easy, simple even, to focus on Veronica, for her to grab her attention like she always seemed to.

Maybe that was the reason she had caved, why she had let Veronica back in. Maybe it was the fact that Veronica had finally apologized for what happened. Maybe it was the way Veronica defended her friend, and the way she’d claimed she would have defended Heather like that. Or maybe she just missed her, and was tired of not having her in her life anymore.

Heather pushed away the line of thought. Whatever the reason was, it was done, and Heather didn’t intend to go back on it. With Veronica back in the mix, she could put her full focus on her main goal: to find out her soulmate’s identity. And maybe, with Veronica’s help, she could finally figure it out.

* * *

The rest of the day passed in a blur, contrasting with the sluggish pace of the first half. As Veronica went through her classes, the change in attitude from her peers that had previously shunned her was crystal clear. People who had been mining her vomiting just the Friday before were now averting their eyes, apologizing for getting in her way. When Veronica walked into her seventh period science class, she had found McNamara sitting in her old seat at Veronica’s table, waving to her as if she hadn’t spent the last two weeks avoiding her gaze from the corner of the room. It was off-putting, but also nice, to be accepted again, even if it was only because of what Heather had said in the cafeteria.

Soon, she found herself pulling into Heather’s massive driveway, parking behind Duke’s Jeep. Following Heather through the house, she gazed around it. It looked just as perfect and empty as always, Heather’s parents nowhere to be found. It was if nothing had changed in the last two weeks, when in truth, everything had.

Walking into Heather’s room, the other three got settled, Duke taking a place on the bed with McNamara, as Heather threw her bag down on the floor. Veronica stood awkwardly, not knowing where she should sit. Usually, she would just sit down beside Heather on the love seat, but after the last two weeks, she wasn’t too sure if that was the best move. McNamara was the safest option, but sitting by her meant sitting near Duke, and considering the animosity radiating off of her, Veronica knew that wasn’t the best idea.

As Heather walked to the love seat, Veronica saw her lift her sleeve of her blazer. Heather’s back blocked most of her view, but she knew that Heather was looking at the message she had written right before their bathroom encounter. From her angle, she could just make out a smile adorning Heather’s face, softer than anything Veronica had ever seen grace her before.

‘She’s looking that way because of something I wrote,’ Veronica thought, stunned.

Heather’s eyes met hers and the smile disappeared. Heather shoved the sleeve back down and plopped down on the loveseat, looking as regal as ever.

“Nosy much?” she asked her.

Duke snickered from the bed.

“Sorry,” Veronica said. “Did your soulmate send you something nice?”

“Something like that,” Heather answered. “You’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

“Catching up?”

“Heather’s soulmate opened up the bond!” McNamara blurted out.

“Heather!” Heather exclaimed, exasperated.

“Sorry, Heather,” McNamara said, though she didn’t look very sorry.

“Your soulmate opened the bond?” Veronica decided playing dumb was the best course of action. “That’s… wow.”

“Quite.” Heather’s lips curled ever so slightly.

“You don’t look that enthused.”

“Let’s just say we didn’t exactly start off on the right foot,” Heather said.

‘That’s the understatement of the century,’ Veronica thought. She needed to be careful. She didn’t want to outright lie to Heather, so she needed to be smart with how she worded things.

“So… who is it?” She asked, placing her own stuff down on the ground now that the ice had been broken.

“That’s the million-dollar question,” Duke chimed in.

Veronica schooled her face into one of confusion. Heather’s lips thinned. “I don’t know. And he’s adamant on keeping it that way unless I can figure it out myself.”

“Damn,” she replied. “That blows. Do you have any leads?”

“Nothing major besides that he goes to Westerberg,” Heather answered, leaning on the loveseat, propping her arm up on a pillow, her hand on her cheek.

“We’ve been keeping track of clues though!” McNamara said, scooting over to Heather’s nightstand. She picked up the notebook that’d been lying there and opened it up. “Heather’s been writing down stuff, and me and Duke have been trying to help her figure it out!”

Veronica stared at the full pages of the notebook. On them, Veronica saw that Heather had transcribed many of her messages, some word for word and others just paraphrased. As she tried to get a closer look, Heather came up from behind her and snatched the notebook, closing it as she did so.

“Anyway,” Heather said, a red tint to her cheeks, “with your help, we should be able to figure out who he is in no time.” She narrowed her eyes, a challenging look blazing behind them. “Right, Ronnie?”

Veronica resisted the urge to gulp. Heather had put way more effort into this than she had previously realized. She had figured Heather would try and figure out who she was, but she hadn’t expected the detail and care she was putting into her search, and she certainly hadn’t expected her to transcribe their messages so thoroughly. Heather was defying her expectations at every turn. She might not be on the right track now, but it was apparent that one wrong move could put Heather on her trail.

The plan just got a lot harder.

“Right, Heather,” Veronica answered, hyper aware once more of the message hiding beneath her sweater.

* * *

_Dear Diary, today has just been one confusing situation after the other…_

Veronica wrote the day’s events in her diary, monocle securely fastened on her face as her hand jet across the pages. She hoped that writing down what happened would help give some clarity into Heather’s mindset, but she was still coming up blank, Heather’s reasoning eluding her.

As she completed a sentence, the cool sensation broke out over her arm. ‘Speak of the devil,’ Veronica thought as she looked down at the message.

** _Are you still awake?_ **

Veronica’s brow furrowed. Still awake? Why would she ask that? It wasn’t that late. Veronica looked at the clock and blanched as she saw it was nearly midnight. Shit. She hadn’t realized how much time had passed. She grabbed her marker.

**Yeah**

**Are you okay? You haven’t been answering**

A beat passed.

** _I’m better than I was_ **

Veronica frowned.

**Do you wanna talk about it?**

Heather didn’t respond immediately.

** _I’m dealing with it_ **

** _I don’t want to bore you with the details_ **

Veronica felt a smile tugging at her lips, despite the situation.

**Heather, you’re many things**

**But boring is never one of them**

There was another pause from Heather, but this one seemed to drag on longer than the last. Veronica waited, patient.

** _Something happened_ **

** _Well almost happened_ **

Veronica waited for Heather to continue, to give more details, but nothing came. She bit her lip as unease settled in her stomach. She had an idea of what could have happened, but she didn’t want to think about it, to think something like that could happen to Heather. And from the way Heather had worded her message, she could tell that Heather didn’t want to think about it either. So, she would let it be, for her sake.

**If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here**

**But I won’t force you to**

** _I wish we could talk in person_ **

As was the trend for the day, it hadn’t been the response she expected, but after everything else, it barely surprised her. Veronica sighed. She wished she could too, but she also knew Heather would never be having this conversation with her if she knew who she was. What would be a good compromise here? Something that would hold Heather over, but also give her some more time to adjust without throwing their true identities into the mix. One came to mind and Veronica started to write.

**How about this**

**If you don’t figure it out by the end of the year**

**I’ll tell you who I am**

Graduation seemed like a good deadline to her. It gave her months to prepare, if Heather didn’t figure it out by then, and if she reacted badly, Veronica wouldn’t be forced to see her everyday due to school. It gave her an out, while also appeasing Heather’s curiosity.

Heather’s response was quick, but brief.

** _I’ll hold you to that_ **

Veronica sighed, remembering the notebook containing their messages. She rubbed her thumb over Heather’s handwriting.

‘I’m sure you will, Heather. I’m sure you will.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So this is the end of what I consider to be Act 1 of this story (3 Acts total). The opening scene was probably my biggest source of writer's block out of any part of the story. In my original outline, I had just put "Veronica does something that gets her back into the Heathers" and so I spent about roughly a week trying to figure out how I could make it happen while still keeping them in character. I had a lot of ideas, but this was the only one that seemed to work, so I hope it came across as believable.  
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I'm already working on chapter 6 so I hope to have that out in the usual timeframe. Thanks for reading!


	6. don't let me get me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica readjusts to being a Heather. Her and Duke have a chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold Text: Veronica’s messages  
Bold Italics Text: Heather's messages

The next day, while less off-putting, was almost as bizarre as the last. It was like all of Westerberg was acting like the last two weeks hadn’t happened. When Veronica walked into English, she’d found Heather in her old seat at her side, having bullied her way into switching back. She ate lunch with the Heathers again, doing the lunchtime poll, walking to and from classes as a unit. Everything seemed like it had realigned itself into its previous state.

But this new status quo had cracks, and through them, hints of the truth seeped to the surface, proving that the last two weeks hadn’t been a hallucination. Now, more people than ever avoided her eyes. More whispers filled the hallways when she walked by. McNamara was being overly friendly, as if trying to compensate for the weeks of evasion. Duke looked at her with more animosity than she had before. And Heather… Heather was avoiding the mention of it all together, changing the subject anytime someone brought it up, and glaring the instigator into submission if they pushed further.

Veronica was glad it was Halloween. With it being a Tuesday, she probably would have ended up spending alone time with Heather, considering both Duke and McNamara were preoccupied with school activities. Using the holiday to her advantage, she had been able to use the excuse of her parents making her pass out candy to trick or treaters, something Heather hadn’t been too eager to participate in.

“So, you’re just going to spend you night handing out candy to snotty little kids?” Heather turned up her nose. “Pass. I’ve got better things to do.”

Veronica knew for a fact that Heather did not, considering she had just complained about the lack of company, but she didn’t bring that up. Besides, it’s not like she was lying: she did have to pass out candy. She just didn’t need to be home right after school. No, the excuse was there to give her time to get to the hangout that she had to postpone the previous day.

“Ok,” JD said as Veronica walked over to where he, Betty, and Martha had gathered, “now that the whole 7/11 gang is here-”

“We are _so _not going by that,” Betty interjected.

“-let’s address the elephant in the room.” He turned to Veronica, ignoring Betty. “Care to explain how you’re suddenly a Heather again?”

“If I could give you an answer I would,” Veronica said, running a hand through her hair. “But even after a day, I still don’t get it.”

“Try.” JD said, a scowl on his face.

Veronica frowned. She knew JD’s reaction to the newest development was going to be less than stellar, but seeing it in action stung a little. Did he think so little of her?

“Ok,” Veronica conceded.

Veronica launched into a similar tale she had told Martha the day before, this time mentioning the soulmate factor that had led her to the bathroom in the first place. The three of them listened at rapt attention, hanging on her every word.

“And after all that fighting, Heather just let you back in?” Betty asked, a skeptical tone in her voice. “Just like that?”

“Just like that,” Veronica said.

“No way,” JD said, shaking his head. “There’s no way she just let you back in no strings attached. It’s gotta be a trick.”

Veronica frowned. “I don’t think it is.”

“Sawyer,” he said, exasperated, “Veronica, come on. I’ve known a lot of girls like her and nothing like this ever ends well. Do you really think Heather Chandler, out of the kindness of her ‘heart,’ really just up and decided to let you back into the group?”

“Look, I know it doesn’t make sense,” Veronica said, “but I really don’t think it’s a trick. It seemed too spur of the moment and the other Heathers were way too thrown for it to have been planned.”

“So? It might not have been preplanned, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t let the others in on it after the fact.”

“Maybe she did!” Veronica exclaimed. “Maybe in a few days, she’s gonna crush me more publicly, or maybe she won’t. It doesn’t change the fact that I’m stuck with them, because if it is a trick, trying to get out is just gonna make it happen sooner.”

A scowl adorned JD’s face again, but he said nothing, taking a sip of his Slurpee. Veronica had come to learn that this meant he didn’t have a comeback to her argument, and he was gonna brood for a while.

“Anyway,” Betty said, breaking the awkward silence, “have you managed to hide your-” she gestured to Veronica’s arms, “-affliction?”

Veronica scrunched her nose. “You make it sound like I’ve got herpes or something.”

“V. Focus.”

“Right, sorry. Yeah, I have, but it hasn’t been easy, and it’s only been one day. I’m constantly having to make sure my sleeves are down. This morning, I coated my arm with almost my entire thing of concealer just to make sure Heather didn’t see anything on the off chance my blazer caught on something.” Veronica sighed. “I don’t know how I’m gonna be able to keep this up. This whole plan made way more sense when I wasn’t with Heather all the time. Maybe I should just tell her and get it over with.”

“No way,” JD put his Slurpee down, pulled from his brooding. “You can’t bail out now.”

“You think I want to?” Veronica asked. “Of course not! But if Heather finds out before I tell her, she’s gonna kill me.”

“If you tell her now, she’s gonna kill you. Come on, you’re in too deep. You’ve got no choice but to see it through to the end.”

“He’s right,” Martha chimed in. “I don’t want to see you face Heather’s wrath before you even have a chance to celebrate your last Christmas.”

“Christmas? I’m not even gonna last till Thanksgiving.” Veronica ran her hand over her face. “It’s always the same problem: if I tell her, she’s gonna kill me, and if I don’t and she finds out later, she’s gonna kill me. What am I gonna do?”

“Well, let’s brainstorm.” Martha said. “There’s gotta be a way for you to tell her and not end up a dead woman.”

They were silent, each sporting a concentrated look on their faces. Veronica racked her brain for a solution, but found nothing, the answer ever eluding her.

“I’ve got it!” Betty exclaimed, snapping her fingers.

“Shoot,” Veronica said.

“Well, you said that Heather’s writing down your messages in a journal, right? 

“Right...”

“Well, what if instead of outright telling her, you hide a secret message in there telling her who you are.”

Veronica furrowed her brow. “How would I do that?”

“Well, um…” Betty frowned. “Look, I laid the groundwork, it’s someone else’s turn.”

“How about this,” Martha said. “What if you write a message where the first letter of every word spells out your name?”

“That’s way too obvious,” Veronica said. “That sentence would sound way too weird and she’d catch on too quickly for my liking.”

“Darn.”

“I know you ladies have a whole brainstorm sesh going on,” JD said, “but didn’t you have to be home to pass out candy, Sawyer?”

Veronica looked out the window and saw the sun was beginning to go down. “Shit, you’re right. I’ve gotta motor. I’ll have to figure some way to sneak it in there on my own. Thanks for the idea though, Betty.”

They said their goodbyes and headed out to their cars. Veronica was buckling up when she heard a knock at her window. Turning, she found JD there.

“Everything okay?” She asked after she rolled down the window.

“Yeah, it’s just…” JD paused. “I know I didn’t take you being a Heather again so well.”

“It’s ok, JD, I get it. They’re not exactly the nicest people.”

“That’s a bit of an understatement, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about. I just wanted to let you know, I’ve got your back, no matter how you want to tackle your-” He put up finger quotes. “‘-affliction.’”

Veronica smiled. “Thanks JD, and I promise, I’m not gonna let myself get wrapped up in their games like I did last time.”

JD smiled back. “Good.” He patted her door and stood back up straight. “I’ll let you know if I think up any ideas. Have fun with all the kids; make sure to leave some candy for yourself.”

“I’ll try my best.”

* * *

Heather was bored out of her mind. From her room, she could hear the trick or treaters walking by outside, laughing and playing around. Huffing, she put down her copy of _The Bell Jar _and laid flat on her bed.

Yet again, Veronica had thrown a wrench into her plans. With her return to the group, Heather had been looking forward to spending time with her, since the others had their Tuesday commitments. What she hadn’t counted on was Veronica having one of her own. It made sense; she had been exiled for two weeks. It was completely reasonable that she would already have plans. But that didn’t mean Heather had to like it. She had tried to play it off like she already had plans too, but the truth was she had jack shit to do.

Her eyes fell to her arm. She wondered what her soulmate was doing. Was he sitting at home, passing out candy like Veronica was? Was he even participating in any Halloween event? Heather knew he didn’t have any siblings from their conversations, so she doubted he was out trick or treating.

Rolling over to her night stand, she grabbed her marker and wrote a message.

** _Are you busy?_ **

A minute passed with no response. Sighing, she put her marker down and went to grab her book. ‘Well that was a bust,’ she thought as she turned her attention back to where she had left off. Before she could even finish a paragraph, she felt his response come in. She smiled as she threw the book to the side and focused on her arm.

**Not really, just passing out candy**

**What’s up?**

So her first guess had been right on the money.

** _Nothing, just bored_ **

**Heather Chandler bored on a holiday night? I’m shocked**

Heather rolled her eyes.

** _Fuck off. It just so happens that any person worth hanging out with is busy_ **

A moment passed.

**Is that so? Even the girl you let back into your clique?**

Heather bristled.

** _Yes, even her_ **

The response was quicker this time.

**I don’t mean to pry**

** _Even though you’re clearly about to_ **

**But why did you forgive her? Didn’t she puke all over your shoes or something like that?**

Heather answered on reflex.

** _That’s none of your business_ **

There was no response for a few minutes. Heather bit her lip. Maybe she had been a little too harsh. Before she had time to brood further, however, an answer came in.

**Sorry, you’re right. That’s your business**

Heather sighed. She needed to move the conversation into another direction.

** _Anyway did you dress up for Halloween?_ **

The response came quick. Maybe he was as glad for the change in conversation too.

**Not really. I just threw on a hat and called it good. You?**

Her mind went to last Saturday night, to the party she had dressed up as Madonna for. She stopped, willing herself to repress any memory of the event. She didn’t want to think about that night ever again. She knew talking about it might help, but that meant reliving it, and that was something she wasn’t ready to do yet. She stroked her soulmate’s handwriting before writing a brief reply.

** _No, not today_ **

* * *

“Sawyer,” Heather said to Veronica, a hanger holding a dark blue sweater clutched in her hand, “this would be a good look on you, don’t you think?”

Despite the way it was framed, Heather said it like a statement, leaving no room for questioning. Veronica studied it. It wasn’t bad at all, just her color. “Yeah, it’s nice.”

“Good. Go try it on,” Heather shoved the hanger into her arms and pushed her in the direction of the dressing rooms.

The school week had passed, and Veronica was spending her first weekend back with the Heathers at the mall. Always looking for an excuse to go shopping, Heather had used Veronica’s “prodigal” return to the group to justify getting new clothes. It was lucky for her that it was getting colder, and long sleeves were in, because so far, she hadn’t picked out a single thing for herself. Rather Heather would find something and then shove her into a dressing room to try it on, no matter what the price tag said or if Veronica protested. After the first few outfits, Veronica had resigned herself to her fate and just went with it.

Closing the door behind her, Veronica undid her sweater so she could put the new one on. As she did, she glanced at her arms and saw the red and blue text coating her upper left forearm. It was from a conversation earlier that morning where they had talked about their favorite foods. It was mundane compared to their other talks, but Heather must not have minded the subject matter, since her words were still tattooed on her skin. Veronica hadn’t bothered to erase hers, only applying a thin layer of cover up to dull the vibrancy of the colors. Heather’s handwriting was incriminating enough on its own, and considering how much of it there was, there was no reason to hide her own messages. Applying more makeup was just going to ruin the inside of her clothes, as well as make her more suspicious if someone were to see the mess caked on there. A thin layer would have to do.

A sharp rap rang on the door. “Come on, Veronica,” Heather said from the other side. “Let’s see it.”

Pushing aside her thoughts, she pulled on the sweater and opened the fitting room door. Heather leaning against the wall, checking her nails. Her eyes lifted at the sound of the door. Veronica shifted in place as Heather studied her like a hawk.

Finally, a smirk graced Heather’s lips. “Beautiful,” she said, “as expected.” She ran her hand against the fabric and Veronica felt heat rise to her cheeks at the contact. As her eyes landed back on Veronica’s face, something changed in Heather’s expression and she turned around abruptly. “Now come on, we still have plenty of store to get through.”

Veronica stared at Heather’s retreating form for a moment before heading back into the dressing room.

‘That was weird,’ she thought. It must have been her imagination, but it had almost looked like Heather had started to blush.

* * *

Many stores and several outfits later, they were all walking back to Duke’s Jeep. Heather had refused to let Veronica pay for any of the clothes Heather had picked out for her. Veronica had a sneaking suspicion that this was Heather’s way of apologizing for the whole excommunication thing without actually voicing it, so she let it slide. McNamara was carrying most of the conversation on their walk, seemingly glad that everything was back to normal, with everyone else chiming in every once in a while.

However, countering McNamara’s cheeriness was her soulmate’s sour mood. McNamara and Duke had split from Heather and Veronica early on, and the separation had done nothing for her demeanor. Since Veronica had rejoined the group, Duke had been bitter and sullen, only interacting with her if they were with the others, and ignoring her otherwise, including in the one class the two of them shared. Veronica was a little stung to be honest. While the two of them had never been the closest, they had at least been friendly, having a shared love of literature. But clearly it hadn’t meant much to Duke, considering she had been all too eager to throw her under the bus when Heather kicked her out of the group.

They piled into the Jeep, with McNamara taking the passenger seat, and Heather and Veronica taking the back. When they had first had gone shopping together back when she had originally joined the Heathers, Veronica had found it odd that Heather hadn’t demanded the front seat considering her usual attitude. That is until it was explained to her by a smug McNamara that she had “shotgun soulmate privilege” when Duke was driving, something that she took great joy in lording over Heather. Veronica wasn’t sure how McNamara got away with it, but Heather never protested, instead choosing to brood in silence.

Unfortunately, this seating arrangement was sucky for Veronica’s current predicament, because she was now stuck sitting next to Heather in a confined space. The only positive was that she was going to be dropped off first since she lived the closest to the mall and the furthest from Duke. She would just have to live with the close quarters for a little while and she’d be home free.

McNamara’s voice continued on in the background, but Veronica didn’t pay attention to it, her focus split between the proximity of her and Heather’s hands where they lay in the center, and reading the street signs as they passed.

‘There’s March Street,’ she thought, ‘and there’s Byers Lane.’

They passed a speed bump and the jolt caused Heather’s hand to touch hers. Both of them reeled back as if they had been burned. She glanced at Heather and saw that her eyes were focused on McNamara, seemingly listening to her speak, but she was rubbing her hand as if trying to wipe away any trace of her touch. Taking her lead of pretending nothing had happened, she turned back to the window.

‘Ok, there’s Murray Drive, and there’s Kaysen Court. Which means…’ Veronica’s shoulders relaxed. ‘…Yes! There it is: Ryder Road!’

Veronica watched in anticipation as they approached the road, her face getting closer to the window as they did. Come on… come on… The car edged closer and Veronica could practically taste freedom.

They passed Ryder Road without a hint of slowing down. Veronica retracted from the window, her hopes dashed as confusion filled her.

“Um, Heather,” she said to Duke, “you missed my turn.”

“Oh my god, were you even listening?” Duke replied back, annoyance on her face. “I have to drop Mac off first since she has a family thing tonight.”

Veronica’s cheeks flushed. She could vaguely remember something like that. “Right, sorry.”

She could just make out Duke rolling her eyes. “You’re such a pillowcase.”

“Heather,” Heather said, a warning clear in her tone. She had stopped massaging her hand.

“Sorry, Heather.” The response was quick and instinctive but lacking the usual ass-kissing tone that normally colored it.

An awkward silence filled the car. McNamara tried to restart the conversation, but it was fruitless, only bearing short responses. Soon they arrived at her house, which was surprisingly modest for a well-off family. Sure, it was bigger than most, but nowhere near the size of Heather’s. McNamara said her goodbyes, waving as they drove off, leaving the car once again in silence.

Veronica fiddled with her fingers, completely at a loss of what to do. If it was awkward before, it was even more so now. She chanced a glance at Heather and saw she had a scheming look on her face. Veronica paled. Nothing good would come of that.

“Heather,” Heather said, a mischievous expression replacing her scheming one as she leaned forward in her seat, “can you drop me off before Veronica?”

‘Oh no,’ Veronica thought. ‘Heather, what the fuck?’ If Heather left first, she would be stuck alone in the car with Duke.

Duke seemed to realize this too, as her expression had changed to a frantic one. “But she lives closer, Heather!” She said, her voice higher than usual. “Doesn’t it make more sense to drop her off first?”

Heather raised an eyebrow, looking at Duke through the rear-view mirror. “Yes, but I just remembered I have something important I need to do. Surely you understand.”

Heather hadn’t even bothered to try to make her lie sound convincing. As Duke tried to assemble a convincing argument, Veronica caught Heather’s eye and silently tried plead with her to change her mind. It didn’t seem to faze her as Heather just shot her a meaningful look that seemed to say, “go with it.”

Duke sighed from the driver’s seat, a defeated expression on her face. “Yes, Heather.”

Veronica sagged in her seat, letting her head hit the window. It was moments like these that reminded her that Heather Chandler, despite any vulnerability she showed in private, was, in fact, the absolute worst.

* * *

The ride to Heather’s mansion seemed to take a lifetime, rather than the fifteen minutes it actually did. After letting herself out and grabbing her bags from the back, Heather turned to face them, as she held her spoils over her shoulder.

“Au revoir,” she said, a smirk on her face. “Have an eventful drive back.” She locked eyes with Veronica, and her smirk grew wider before she headed towards her mansion.

As they watched Heather walk away, they took deep breaths simultaneously. They looked at each other. Duke’s nose scrunched in disgust and she broke the eye contact, instead looking out the rearview window as she pulled out of the driveway. As Duke drove, the awkwardness grew, neither of them willing to break the silence. The radio provided the only noise in the car. They stopped at a red light. Veronica waited for Duke to say something, anything, but she remained silent and stone-faced as she focused on the road. It was apparent that she wasn’t going to be the one to end this awkward silence. Veronica sighed. She guessed it was up to her to at least try and break the ice.

“So…” she said, “read any good books lately?”

Duke shot her a look that seemed to be a mix of hostile and disbelief. “That’s what you’re going with? Seriously?”

Veronica ran her hand through her hair. “It’s what we talked about before.”

The light turned green and Duke turned back to the road. “Exactly. Before.”

Veronica waited for a follow up, but one never came. Veronica sighed. It seemed like Duke went to the Heather Chandler School of Not Explaining Things. The silence returned, but this time, there was a tension underlying it instead of awkwardness. She looked out the window. Judging from their surroundings, they were still a few minutes from her house. Great.

As the silence dragged on, Veronica felt annoyance build in her gut. What exactly had she done to Duke to deserve this animosity? She had always tried to be nice to her, aside from the infrequent snarky comment, but none of it seemed to faze her in the slightest, instead she chose to stay anywhere from passive to just plain hostile. As every moment passed, the question gnawed at her until she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Ok, I’m done with this,” Veronica said. “What did I do?”

The question seemed to take Duke by surprise. “What?”

“What did I do to you? Ever since Heather let me back in, you’ve been ignoring me or insulting me.”

Duke turned her eyes back to the road. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Veronica scoffed. “That’s crap and you know it.”

“Fine!” Duke exclaimed. She drove the car to the curb, parking before turning back towards Veronica. “You wanna know why I’m acting like this? It’s because it’s not fair.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb. It’s not fair that you got into the group so easily, and even less fair that you got in _again_ just as easily.”

“I wasn’t even trying to get in either time!” Veronica countered. “The first time I just wanted to sit with you guys for a day so I wouldn’t be harassed, and the second time I didn’t even want to get in. I was yelling at her when she changed her mind!”

“That’s just it! You didn’t even have to try!” Duke’s shoulders shook. “I had change so many things about myself: the way I dress, the people I called friends, my body… neither you or Mac had to do any of that. Mac got in easy since she was Heather’s first friend when she moved to Sherwood in 6th grade, but you… you didn’t have to do anything at all. Heather gave you everything: a makeover, new clothes, and now you even get to keep your loser friends!”

“How is that my fault?” Veronica asked, exasperated. “I didn’t ask Heather to do any of that!”

“But she did, and now you’re her favorite while all I get is glares and dismissals.”

Veronica looked at Duke in disbelief. “Her favorite? You’re crazy.”

“Oh please. You said yourself that she let you back in even though you were yelling at her, and you’re gonna say you’re not her favorite? And that’s not even mentioning-” Duke stopped mid sentence, her eyes widening.

“Mentioning what?” Veronica pressed. Did Duke know something she didn’t?

To her disappointment, Duke finished the sentence. “-mentioning your forgery skills.” She said, sagging a bit, before adjusting her posture. “Without you around to write your notes, getting around school was a lot harder.” She scowled. “So don’t you see? You have Heather’s favor, you’re useful, and even when you threw everything away, you still got a free pass back into the group.” She looked away. “It’s not fair.”

Veronica wanted to mention how much she changed the first time, how she had to change her wardrobe, her attitude, had to leave Martha and Betty behind, and was supposed to change her morals, but as she looked at Duke, she held her tongue. She had known Duke had insecurities about her image considering her condition, but she hadn’t realized how much those insecurities extended. She had once thought of being a part of the Heathers was like a job, but to Duke, it seemed like she saw being a Heather as more than that; it was everything to her. It was apparent in the way she acted: the way she tended to mimic Heather’s behavior and mannerisms in an effort to be noticed.

In a way, Veronica understood. Duke wanted to stay on top, to avoid any harassment, though she took it to farther extremes than Veronica could ever dream of doing. With everything Duke had said, she could even understand the animosity towards her. Like she said, Veronica had done the bare minimum and still managed to get back in the group,

“Look,” Veronica said, “I get it. It’s not fair. But I wasn’t trying to fuck you over, Heather. Really. And I really don’t want to have to tiptoe around you every time Heather and Heather want to hang out. I know we’re never gonna be best friends, but can we just start over and at least try to be friendly?

Duke stared at her for a moment, her lips thin, before sighing. “Fine. But I’m only doing this because it’ll make Mac happy.”

Veronica gave a small smile. “I’ll take it.”

Duke nodded and faced forward, taking the car out of park and pulling back onto the street. The awkward silence returned, though the tension from before was gone. Veronica rested her head against the window, gazing at the passing buildings.

“_Catcher in the Rye_.”

Veronica looked at Duke, whose eyes were still on the road. “Huh?”

“The book I’ve been reading. You asked.”

“Oh, right.” She paused. “Are you enjoying it?”

“Yeah.”

Veronica looked out the window. She could see the sign for Ryder Road coming closer.

“I’m glad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm sorry for the delay! As I wrote on my writing tumblr, there's been a few factors as to why this is late. The major one is that aside from the first scene, none of this chapter was in my original outline. When I was looking over my outline for this chapter, I realized that pacing-wise, those events were happening too soon, so I pushed them back a chapter. I spent a lot of time trying to think of something to put in this chapter, before deciding to use it to look into Heather Duke's character. As I've been writing this story, it's been gnawing at me for a while, and moving stuff around gave me the opportunity to work it in here.   
Next chapter everything goes back to my outline, so I'm hoping to get it out in the normal two-week time frame. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you guys think of it!


	7. i'm at the point of no returning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica goes to a party.

“Thanks for abandoning me on Saturday,” Veronica said as she caught up with Heather in the parking lot on Monday morning.

The comment didn’t faze Heather. She’d been expecting it after her quick exit from the Jeep. Perhaps if things had ended up escalating between Veronica and Duke, she would feel a little bad at her part in it. But, as she knew from McNamara that the two had agreed to play nice, she didn’t have an ounce of regret in her.

“Are you still mad about that?” Heather asked, not breaking stride as they walked into the building. “Come on, Sawyer, move on.”

As expected, Veronica didn’t seem to be letting it go. “No way, you left me alone with Duke, knowing full well she didn’t like me.”

They reached her locker, and she started putting in her combination. “And?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Veronica giving her an exasperated look. “Why would you do that?”

“I told you both I had something very important to do.”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “And you know neither of us believed that.”

Heather would have been disappointed in them if they had, considering she had put zero effort into the lie.

Heather finally looked at Veronica, her locker door open. “Look, the two of you fighting was getting on my last nerve. Heather would never admit what was going on in front of me, so I took myself out of the equation.”

Confusion seeped into Veronica’s exasperated expression. “Wait, so you left us just so we could talk it out? There’s no way you could have known that would work instead of making things worse.”

Heather raised an eyebrow. “Did it?”

Veronica looked away, not answering, her mouth twisting in that way it did when she didn’t want to admit something.

“That’s what I thought.” Heather said, a smirk on her face as Veronica rolled her eyes. “Heather’s not good at keeping her true feelings from showing, and it was only a matter a time before she blew up at you. Better it happened in private than in a public setting.”

“So you were sparing up the indignity of a blowout fight?” Veronica said. A smirk grew on her face and Heather felt herself gulp despite herself. “Careful, Heather. That almost sounds like you were trying to be nice.”

Heather’s eyes narrowed. “Say something slanderous like that again and you’ll be hearing from my lawyers.” She grabbed the books she needed for her next class. “We’re a group. What looks bad on you two looks bad on all of us.”

“Sure, Heather. Whatever you say.” Veronica said, her smirk remaining.

Heather knew she needed to retort. She could not let Veronica have the upper hand in this conversation. But that smirk on her face was throwing her off. Heather didn’t know why, but it was frustrating her. She shouldn’t look so damn good when she was doing that.

“Hey Heather! Hey Veronica!”

Heather felt a breath of relief escape her as she saw McNamara and Duke approaching. Perfect timing.

“Hey Heather,” Veronica replied to McNamara, still looking too smug for Heather’s liking. She turned her gaze to Duke, her expression shifting to a more neutral one. “Heather.”

Duke nodded back at her. While the look on her face was still not an overly friendly one, the animosity that had been lurking there for the last week was gone, leaving a similar neutral expression to the one Veronica was sporting.

“So,” McNamara said, trying to move the conversation along, “what were you two taking about?” She shot Heather that same knowing look as last week.

Nope, she was not dealing with that. “Nothing,” Heather said quickly, slamming her locker shut behind her. “Veronica was just volunteering her house for croquet after school.”

Veronica’s eyebrows shot up. “I was?”

Heather shot Veronica a look.

“Oh, right. I was.”

“Good, that’s settled.” She looked at Duke. “Heather, let’s go.”

Duke snapped to attention. “Yes, Heather.”

Grabbing Duke’s arm, they left Veronica and McNamara behind, both looking confused.

“Everything okay, Heather?” Duke asked, also looking confused at their quick exit.

Heather pushed a stray strand of hair out of her face, her cheeks hot. “Very.”

* * *

“You doing ok, Heather?” Veronica asked Duke as she walked out of the stall.

Duke joined them at the counter, pulling a piece of gum out of her bag as she wiped a thin layer of sweat off her forehead. “I’ll live.”

They were doing their usual post-lunch make up touch up. They all stood at the sink, each focused on their own appearance. McNamara shot Duke a concerned look through the mirror.

“I still think you should see a doctor, Heather,” she said.

“I told you before, Heather, I’ll think about it.” Sticking the piece of gum in her mouth, she grabbed her blush. “Anyway, did you hear? Kurt’s dad is out of town this weekend. You know what that means.”

McNamara looked like she wanted to continue on with the previous conversation, but Heather spoke up. “So soon? It hasn’t even been a month.”

Duke shrugged. “I’m just saying what I’ve heard.”

Veronica put her lipstick away, keeping her eyes averted from the others. The last party had been an absolute disaster for her. Heather may have let her back into the group, but there was no way in hell she was gonna let her attend another party so soon. She was just going to keep her mouth shut for now.

“Hmm,” Heather said, applying her lipstick. She rubbed her lips together. “Well, that’s a better way to spend Saturday night than what I originally had planned. No point in passing up a perfectly good rager.”

“I’m sure it’ll go better than the last one,” McNamara said.

Duke snickered and Heather’s lips thinned.

McNamara seemed to realize what she said. She shot Veronica an apologetic look. “Sorry, Ronnie. I didn’t mean it like that.”

Veronica sighed, closing her makeup bag up. “It’s fine. Besides, I’m sure it’ll go smoother without me around.”

Heather snapped around, turning towards Veronica, looking away from the mirror and right into her eyes. “What do you mean, ‘without you?’”

Veronica raised her eyebrows at the reaction. “Well, after what happened last time, I figured you’d want me to sit this one out.”

“We’re a unit, Veronica.” Heather said, a hand on her hip. “It looks bad on us if one of us is M.I.A.”

Veronica’s brow furrowed. This was confusing. “So, you want me to come? Even after last time?”

Heather rolled her eyes. “Don’t be such a pillowcase. Of course you’re coming.” Her eyes narrowed. “But if there’s one thing we learned, it’s that you can’t hold your liquor, so you’re not drinking this time. Period.”

Veronica frowned. That sucked ass. She opened her mouth to protest, but stayed silent as Heather’s eyes narrowed at her. She guessed Heather had a point. She was the one who ended up with her puke all over her feet.

“Ok, I’ll go.” Veronica said. “But no pranks on Martha this time.”

Heather scoffed. “As if we would want Martha Dumptruck at the party again.”

“Dunnstock.”

“Whatever.”

Veronica sighed. She’ll take what she can get at the moment.

* * *

Kurt and Ram’s party was like it always was: wild and full of wasted high-schoolers. Heather leaned against the railing at the top of the stairs, looking down at her peers dancing to the music blaring from the speakers, a cup of beer in her hand. It wasn’t too different from their last party, all things considered, but something about this one felt different. Maybe it was the fact that she wasn’t distracted by her plan to humiliate Martha Dumptruck. No, that wasn’t it.

Heather knew what it was. It was the fact that just like last time, her soulmate could be any one of the guys dancing down there, or maybe one of the guys playing beer pong. She had no idea what he looked like, or how tall he was, no way of knowing which party goer he was. For all she knew, he might not even be here. But if he was here last time, there was a chance he was this time too, and Heather wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to try and find him.

“What are you doing up here by yourself?”

Heather turned her head towards the voice. Veronica joined her at the railing, somehow managing to sneak up the steps despite her bird’s eye view.

Heather took a sip from her drink. “People watching. You?”

“The same, more or less.” Veronica rubbed her hand through her hair, like she usually did when she was nervous. “I was dancing for a little while, but it got boring, and most of the games people are doing involve drinking so those were out.”

Heather raised her chin slightly. “Well maybe next time you can participate, since you’ve made it this far without blowing chunks.”

Veronica rolled her eyes, but didn’t comment. An awkward silence overtook them and Heather bit her lip. She needed to a conversation change. An idea came to her. Veronica was people watching too, maybe she might have seen something that could help her.

“You haven’t happened to see a guy with red writing on his arm, have you?”

Veronica blinked. “A guy with red writing? No, can’t say that I have. Why?”

She took a sip of her drink. So much for that. “Nothing, forget it.”

An understanding look dawned on Veronica’s face. “You’re looking for you-know-who, aren’t you?”

Heather’s cheeks felt hot. “One of the biggest clues I have is that he was here last time.”

“So you think he’s here again too.”

“I know, it’s stupid, but it’s the best lead I have. Westerberg isn’t that big, but he’s still managed to stay hidden and it’s driving me crazy.”

Veronica was silent, a thoughtful expression on her face. Heather’s cheeks grew warmer.

“Like I said, forget it. It’s stupid anyway.”

“I don’t think it’s stupid.” Veronica said. “It’s entirely possible you-know-who’s here. You could have passed them on the way up here and you’d never even know it.”

Heather rolled her eyes. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

“What I mean is, odds are, you’re right, and they are here. So, you’re not stupid.”

“Oh.” She looked down. “Thanks, I guess.”

Veronica rubbed the back of her head. “Anytime.”

The silence turned to a more comfortable one as they stood there, watching the people below. Though her eyes were on the party goers, Heather was very aware of Veronica’s presence, of the space separating them. She tried to focus on her goal, on finding her soulmate, but Veronica’s proximity was agonizing. Their elbows were just inches apart on the railing they were both leaning against.

Heather wasn’t sure why Veronica was so distracting. She blamed it on the alcohol, even though it was her first cup and she had drunk less than half, and she wasn’t a lightweight. Yeah, it was definitely the alcohol that made Heather hyperaware of the sweet smell of Veronica’s perfume. Definitely the alcohol. Definitely not any other reason.

“Hey guys!”

Oh thank god. She looked to the stairway and found McNamara stumbling up the stairs.

“I’ve been looking all over for you! Ram’s starting up a game of spin the bottle and you guys should _totally_ join us.”

Heather scrunched her nose. She was so not in the mood for this. “I’ll pass, Heather.”

“Yeah, me too.” Veronica replied.

McNamara pouted. “Oh come on. You guys can’t just brood up here all night. Come have some fun.”

Heather sighed. McNamara had that look in her eye that said she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She’d just have to continue her search later. “Fine, we’ll come.”

“We?” Veronica asked. “No way, I’m good. I’m gonna sit this one out.”

“Like hell. If I’m going to suffer through this, you are too.” Heather grabbed Veronica’s arm. “Now let’s go.”

Veronica groaned. “Why do you always end up dragging me somewhere?”

Heather just smirked.

* * *

Veronica let herself be dragged behind Heather as they followed McNamara to where a group of about 15 kids, including Duke, Kurt, and Ram had gathered in a circle. As McNamara went to join Duke on the other side of the circle, her and Heather sat down in the open space directly across from them. Veronica surveyed the other players and scrunched her nose. She really wished she could get out of this. The last thing she wanted to do was end up kissing some of these people.

“Heyyy, Ronnica,” Ram slurred as they settled into their places.

Veronica rolled her eyes. Speaking of people she didn’t want to kiss… She still hadn’t forgiven him for the last few weeks. “Ram.”

“Can we just get this started so I can get back to my drink?” Heather chimed in, looking thoroughly annoyed with her current situation.

Ram wiggled his eyebrows in what seemed like was supposed to be a seductive manner. “Whatever you say, Heatherrrrr.”

Taking the first turn, he spun the bottle, with it landing on Courtney from the country club. As they met in the circle, each clearly drunk off their asses, they kissed, with everyone counting down from thirty. Veronica scrunched her nose again at the display, as the two made out. Looking at Heather, their eyes met, and they shared an eye roll as the countdown reached one.

Kurt went next, sitting at Ram’s right. And after that was the girl on his right. With each bottle spin, Veronica cringed inside, praying that it wouldn’t fall on her, that she wouldn’t have to kiss any more people than necessary. And with each spin, her prayers were answered as it missed her every time.

Soon it was Duke’s turn, and she landed on some guy Veronica didn’t know the name of. Whoever he was, Duke didn’t look too impressed, a defeated look on her face. After her it was McNamara’s time and her spin landed on Kurt. She smiled, clearly relieved at her luck. Beside her, Duke looked annoyed, not looking at the two of them.

After their thirty seconds were up, the cycle continued. Someone would spin, Veronica would pray, and she would avoid a kiss by some miracle. She wasn’t the only one that who was lucky though. The bottle hadn’t landed on Heather yet either. Veronica wondered if it was because of the glare she was giving the bottle each time it spun. It wouldn’t surprise her if inanimate objects feared her too. They both remained kiss free as it became Heather’s turn to spin the bottle. Heather’s luck had run out.

Heather let out a deep sigh. “Let’s just get this over with.”

And with that, she leaned over and spun the bottle. Veronica watched as it twirled, its end rotating as it swirled around at the group, each of them possible contenders. She wondered who it would land on, who would get the honor of kissing the great Heather Chandler. She started her prayer again. She thought her chances were rather low, considering she was seated right next to her, but it was better not to take any chances. It had worked so far, and Veronica could only hope it would work again.

The bottle started to slow, and Veronica watched in anticipation as its orbit took the end piece past all of them. As it came around again, its speed decreased even more, and Veronica felt her heart race beneath her chest. Surely, she wasn’t that unlucky. Surely, it would stop before it got to her. Surely, she wasn’t unlucky enough for Heather’s spin to land on her.

The bottle stopped right in front of her.

Everything seemed to go still. Even though music was blaring, Veronica was sure she would have been able to hear a pin drop. She looked up from the bottle and saw Duke and McNamara, staring at her with wide eyes. Veronica gulped, aware of the sweat that was starting to bead on the back of her neck. She looked to Heather.

Heather was staring at her, a whirlwind of emotions on her face. Veronica could make out a few: panic, disbelief, indecision. But there was something else there that she couldn’t, something that seemed so foreign yet so familiar.

“Alright! Girl on girl!” Kurt’s voice rang out, breaking the silence.

Veronica snapped back to reality. The others were whispering amongst themselves, looking at them with anticipation, waiting to see how things would play out. Kurt and Ram looked like they had just been told Christmas had come early.

“Shut up, Ram!” Heather ordered and Veronica turned back towards her.

The whirlwind of emotion was still on her face, but it toned down, her chin lifted.

Veronica tried to think of the right thing to do. It seemed wrong to kiss Heather, considering the massive secret she was keeping from her. Not to mention the fact that she wasn’t even sure she wanted to kiss her. Plus, she doubted Heather wanted to kiss her either considering she seemed exclusively into men.

“Heather, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” She said, giving her an out.

Indecision came back to the surface of Heather’s expression. She didn’t once take her eyes off of her, ignoring their audience.

Veronica continued, “It’s just a stupid game, we don’t have to-”

Veronica lost track of her sentence as Heather’s lips met hers, moving in at record speed. She could hear the countdown start, but it melted away as she became more aware of the fact that Heather Chandler was kissing her. Heather was kissing her. Kissing her. Kiss her. Kiss.

Her brain turned to fuzz as she felt herself lean into it, her hand rising to cup Heather’s cheek as her eyes closed. Heather’s lips were soft, her breath smelling of cherries. Actually, everything about her smelled like cherries. Her breath, her hair. It was intoxicating. Heather’s put a hand on her shoulder and Veronica let out a sigh. She could feel Heather relax beneath her touch and the part of Veronica that could still function wondered why they hadn’t been doing this since they met.

And then Heather was gone. Veronica was confused at the sudden loss of her.

‘Where did Heather go,’ she thought, her thoughts sluggish as she opened her eyes, dazed.

In front of her, Heather was panting lightly as she stared at her, her cheeks flushed, her expression something that looked like awe, or shock, or panic, or something. She wasn’t too sure. Veronica tried to bring herself to focus, to decipher what Heather was feeling, but was too distracted looking at Heather’s features due to their closeness.

‘Her eyes are so gray,’ she thought.

A sharp wolf whistle rang out and Veronica snapped back to reality, remembering where she was. Tearing her eyes from Heather, she looked at the others in the circle and found them all staring at her open mouthed. McNamara looked positively giddy, Duke disbelieving, Kurt and Ram horny. Disgusted at the last one, she turned back to Heather and found any trace of her previous expression was gone, her flushed cheeks the only evidence of it, a bored look taking its place as she rolled her eyes at Kurt and Ram.

“God could you too be anymore disgusting?” She asked them, an eyebrow arched. She let out a deep, dramatic sigh. “I’m done with this.”

Heather stood up, brushing herself off as she did. She looked to Kurt, smirking. “Could you show me that thing you were talking about earlier? The thing in the other room?”

Kurt’s smile grew as he hopped up. “Sure thing, Heatherrr.”

Veronica sat rooted to the floor as she watched the two disappear into the crowd. As the other players dispersed from the circle, deciding the game was over, she had one thing going through her mind.

What the fuck just happened?

* * *

Heather slammed Kurt against the wall as soon as they were away from prying eyes. Kurt gave her an excited look.

“I’ve been waiting for this all night,” he said, giddy.

Heather couldn’t care less. “Shut up, Kurt.”

With that, she crashed her lips on his, going through the motions like she always did with boys. She didn’t much care for this, the making out, but it was something she had to do, something to assert her dominance over the school. She needed to prove that she could get any guy she wanted; it was what was expected of her. So at parties like this, she would make out with some guy, usually Kurt or Ram, let them get to second base, maybe even third if she was feeling generous, and then find something more enjoyable to do. It was boring, never doing much for her, but it’s what she had to do for her status. The most making out with them ever did did for her was distract her from whatever reality she didn’t want to face. She had always assumed that kissing was just supposed to be like that, just something that had to be done. That was until a few minutes ago.

Kissing Veronica had been unlike any other kiss she had ever had before. Where there usually was prickly stubble was soft skin, and unlike Kurt or Ram’s lips which were usually rough, greedy, and demanding, Veronica’s had been gentle, but still eager. As Veronica had held her cheek, she had felt warmth blossom in her chest. It had felt great. It had felt right.

It had felt perfect.

But it couldn’t be perfect, because Veronica was a _girl_. It went against everything thought she knew about herself. Boys should be making her feel that way, not Veronica with her stupid wavy brown hair, her dark brown eyes that she had lost herself in, and that gentle way she had caressed her face, making her feel safe.

Heather kissed Kurt harder, gripping his short hair and his shirt that smelled of bad cologne. Maybe if she kissed him long enough, she could forget about Veronica, forget about that stupid feeling in her chest. But as she let Kurt’s hands roam upwards, the only thought in her head was of Veronica’s lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
So with this I'm finally back on track with my outline. The kiss was the main reason you guys got more of a filler chapter last week, as I felt it was too early for them to kiss at that point. I'm aiming to get the next chapter out in the usual two week time period, but with Star Wars, Witcher, and the holidays coming up, it might be a little later. Regardless, I'll try my best to get it out.  
Also I'd like to thank everyone who leaves kudos or leaves comments or both, but especially the commenters. Your comments make my whole day when I see them, and a lot of the time I'll come back to old chapters just to read them again. They mean so much so thank you for them.  
In case I don't get to post this chapter during the next three weeks, happy holidays guys! And thanks for reading!


	8. not like i faint every time we touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica deals with the aftermath of the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold Text: Veronica’s messages  
Bold Italics Text: Heather's messages

Veronica couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss.

Since the party, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. It shouldn’t have been that big of a deal. It was just a kiss for a stupid party game. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been kissed before. It had always been nice feeling, something enjoyable, but Heather’s kiss had blown them all out of the water. None of them had left her as dumbstruck, had short circuited her brain, like those 30 seconds had.

After the party, she hadn’t been able to sleep, her mind alert as she tried to comprehend what had happened. She had tried to get her feelings out in her diary. She had tried to distract herself with homework. She had tried to think about literally anything else. But all it took was seeing Heather’s handwriting on her skin to send her back to square one.

Why had the kiss affected her that way? Was it the soulmate connection? She wanted to pin it on that, but it didn’t sit right in her gut. No, them being soulmates may have given them a way to connect, but she didn’t think that connection was the sole reason for her dilemma.

She couldn’t be attracted to Heather Chandler. Could she? Heather was cruel. She was vindictive. She was awful. Veronica could not be attracted to her. Not even if her hair was that pretty shade of strawberry blonde, or if when she smiled a genuine smile, it made her beautiful than she was already was. Or with those gray eyes that always seemed to drift her way…

‘No!’ Veronica stopped herself. ‘Snap out of it! You cannot be into her, no matter how beautiful she is!’

“Veronica?”

Veronica jumped. She came back to reality, finding Martha, Betty, and JD staring at her with questioning looks that were tinged with concern. Veronica ran a hand through her hair. She needed to stop getting lost in her thoughts like that.

“Sorry,” she said, “what were you saying?”

JD frowned. “We were asking how the party went and then you zoned out on us.”

Veronica felt heat flood to her cheeks. “Oh, right. It was fine.”

“Fine?” Betty asked, her eyebrows raised. “You’ve been lost in your head all day. What happened? You didn’t puke on her again, did you?”

“What? No!” She ran a hand over her face. “Nothing bad happened. Just something confusing.”

“How so?” JD asked.

Veronica bit her lip. “Well… you see…” She fiddled with her Slurpee straw. “…the party was fine. Just a lot of dancing and loud music and I may have kissed Heather Chandler. Anyway, how did your nights go?”

“Wait, WHAT?!” Martha exclaimed as Betty and JD’s jaws dropped.

“There was a lot of dancing and loud music?”

Betty put her hands up as if to tell her to stop. “You kissed Heather! How? When? Why?”

Veronica sighed. “It was during spin the bottle. When she spun, it landed on me.”

“And you waited all morning to say something?! This is huge!”

“Give me a break, I still haven’t even processed it yet. And besides, it happened during a stupid party game. It’s not like it meant anything.”

“Yeah and the fact that you’ve been zoning out every few minutes shows you believe that just as much as we do,” JD said, a frown on his face. “How did the demon queen take it?”

“I don’t know.” Veronica admitted, mirroring his frown. “She went off with Kurt right after and she barely looked at me when Duke was driving us home. So, my guess? Not well.”

“Ok, give us the play by play,” Betty said. “How did it exactly go down?”

Veronica gave a quick rundown, starting with how she had found Heather alone upstairs, to when Heather left the circle with Kurt.

“Well, shit,” JD said, “what are the odds that both of you wouldn’t get landed on until that very moment?”

“My odds,” Veronica said, tired. “That’s my shitty luck at work.”

“Well, you explained how it happened, but how was it?” Betty asked. “I mean, you guys are soulmates; was it at least a good kiss?”

“It was…” Veronica trailed off, the feeling of Heather’s lips on hers coming to the front of her thoughts yet again. “…something.”

“Something? What do you mean by something?”

“Oh my god,” Martha said, her hand over her mouth. “You liked it!”

“I didn’t say that!”

“Yeah, she didn’t say that!” JD interjected, his eyes narrowed.

“But she didn’t say otherwise!” Betty said. “I get it now; that’s why you’ve been so spacy! You’re not just zoning out because she kissed you: you’re zoning out because you liked how it felt!”

“I… shut up!” The heat rose to Veronica’s cheeks again. “Whether I liked it or not, it doesn’t matter.”

“Like hell it doesn’t! This is huge!”

“It doesn’t matter!” Veronica reiterated. “Because it isn’t going to matter to Heather when she finds out that I let her kiss me without telling her the truth about us being soulmates.”

“You don’t know that.” Martha said, exasperated.

“Yes, I do.” Veronica’s mind went back to her conversation with Heather by the railing. “She was always going to be pissed at me for keeping this secret, but you don’t know the way she talks about her soulmate, about me. She’s going to be livid when she realizes I let this happen without telling her.” Veronica sighed. “I’m just tired of all the secrets, but I don’t even know how to begin to tell her.”

Martha looked like she wanted to say something before Betty spoke up. “Have you thought anymore on our code idea?”

Veronica frowned. “A little, but I still haven’t thought of anything that would work.”

“Well today’s your lucky day, because I’ve thought up a solution.”

“…I’m listening.”

“So, here’s what I’m thinking. We agreed Martha’s initial plan was too obvious, right? Well, what if we took that plan and tweaked it a bit.”

“How so?” JD asked, his straw in his mouth, looking a little put out.

“Well Martha’s plan was to have all the letters of a message spell out Veronica’s name. But what if we spaced it out a bit? You said Heather’s writing down your messages, right? So, what if it’s over multiple messages? Instead of it being the first letter of every word in the message, it can be the first letter of the whole message.”

“I like the idea of it,” Veronica said, frowning, “but we send each other multiple messages a day. How would she know which one has the code in it?”

It was silent for a moment as they all tried to think of a solution.

“Ooh!” Martha exclaimed. “I’ve got it! What if the coded message is something completely random, something off topic from whatever conversation you’re having? That way she’ll know something is up, but she may not realize it’s coded until later.”

Veronica nodded her head, thoughtful. “Yeah… yeah that might actually work.”

“Right. And the longer it takes Heather to work out what’s going on, the more time you have to figure out your crush on her.”

Veronica turned red as she spluttered. “I don’t have a crush on her!”

Martha smiled smugly as JD scowled. Betty laughed. “Hopefully Heather takes a while, because it looks like you’re stuck in the denial phase, V.”

Veronica pinched the bridge of her nose.

* * *

Heather sat at her vanity, brushing her hair as she followed through with her nightly routine. Normally, she would give it her full attention, but Heather’s mind was rather preoccupied; she couldn’t stop thinking about the party the previous night. Specifically, she couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss. She had hoped making out with Kurt would set things straight, would put things back to normal, but it was fruitless. The entire time, she was imagining kissing Veronica instead.

It was frustrating. Veronica should not have been able to have this effect on her, and yet she had left her in a whirlwind of confusion. Being near her as they left the party had done nothing to quell the situation. The four of them had ridden together in Duke’s Jeep, with Veronica being the designated driver (her and McNamara had to bribe Duke to get her to let Veronica drive her baby). She had postponed her departure from the party just to prepare herself, to get her thoughts in order. But the moment Veronica and her locked eyes in the main hall, and Veronica smiled at her, she was a goner. That’s all it took: one smile, and Heather was nearly fell apart. It was only the sure power of her pride that kept her composure intact. No one could see what Veronica had done to her, _especially_ not Veronica herself.

She had avoided her gaze the entire night, pretending to be too buzzed to notice anything was different, that the energy had changed between them. From her spot in the passenger seat, McNamara and Duke cuddled together in the back, she could feel Veronica trying to catch her eye every so often as she drove, but she stayed strong. Because if she looked back, she was sure she would break, and she couldn’t have that, not at all.

‘I like boys,’ she repeated in her head like a mantra as she exited the Jeep, not looking back. ‘I like boys.’

It was this same mantra she kept up now, as the memory of Veronica’s face cupping her cheek tried to cut in. She put her brush down and stared at herself in the mirror.

She glared at herself. “Stop. Thinking. About. It.” She growled, hoping her command would help her brain cease the images.

It didn’t work.

She dropped her gaze. “Fuck.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. Why was this so difficult?

A cool sensation broke out on her arm and Heather gave a sigh of relief. Oh thank god, a distraction. She hadn’t heard from him all day besides his morning message (a smiley face). She was still sure he had been at the party, so she figured he’d been nursing a hangover, much like she had. She wondered if he knew about the kiss, and if he did, what he thought of it. Was he jealous? Did he care? She almost hoped he knew just to give her an excuse to talk out what was raging in her head. He was the only person she felt she could talk about this too.

Heather raised her arm, ready to read what he had to say.

**I can’t believe Darth Vader is Luke’s father.**

Heather’s brow furrowed. What the fuck? Where had that come from? She racked her brain, trying to think of when Star Wars had come up in their previous conversation, but came up blank. She checked her notebook, just in case she was forgetting something, but the results were the same. She stared at it, confused, before grabbing her marker.

** _Are you watching Star Wars or something?_ **

Heather waited for a response, but as minutes passed, nothing came. She ran a hand through her hair.

** _Hello? Did I miss something? _ **

Still no response. Heather was beyond confused. Just where had that come from? And why wasn’t he answering? She opened to a blank page in her notebook and wrote down the message, still stained on her skin, word for word. In the margin, she wrote a giant question mark beside it.

Looking at the clock, she saw it was getting late. She needed to go to sleep. It had been at least an hour now and her soulmate still hadn’t written anything else. Sighing, and accepting she wasn’t going to get an answer, she grabbed her marker and wrote one last message.

** _I don’t know what’s going on, but I hope you have an explanation for me in the morning._ **

* * *

Heather didn’t get an explanation.

Instead, her soulmate continued on with his daily messages acting like nothing had happened. When she had questioned him about it, the only response she had been able to drag out of him was a doodle of someone shrugging. It was infuriating. Even worse, as the week went on, she continued to receive random messages every day, each accompanied by no explanation whatsoever.

**Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote ** _Cats_ **,** _ Evita_ **, and ** _Phantom of the Opera_

**May the force be with you**

**Very very**

**Everybody wants to rule the world**

**Redrum spelled backwards is murder**

Heather had written them all down in her notebook, but it didn’t help her plight. There didn’t seem to be any pattern that connected them. It all seemed completely random. Just what did it all mean?

“Maybe he has a thing about movies or something,” Duke said, when Heather showed the group after school at her house one day.

“Ok then, what’s ‘very very’ from?” Veronica asked from her spot on the bed, leaning against the headboard, shooting Duke a questioning look.

Heather suppressed a smile as Duke rolled her eyes. “Ok, Sawyer, what do you think it is then?” She threw the notebook at Veronica, who caught it with ease.

Veronica looked over the page’s contents and Heather couldn’t help but stare. Veronica’s lip was jutting out ever so slightly as she concentrated, her brow furrowed. It was almost cute.

‘No, Heather, focus!’ She thought to herself, tearing her eyes away. ‘You have a goal, focus on that instead.’

“Hmm,” Veronica said, drawing Heather’s attention back to her again. “There doesn’t seem to be a common pattern at all. The only things that have something in common are the two Star Wars messages, and even those don’t seem that related.”

Heather huffed in frustration. Damnit. Veronica was supposed to be the secret weapon to figuring this out, but all she was doing was pointing out the obvious.

“Maybe he’s messing with you or something,” McNamara suggested.

“No, it means something.” Heather insisted. “He’s not the type to just mess around for no reason. He has an agenda and I want to figure out what it is.”

* * *

The weekend passed and barely any progress was made. Veronica attributed this to their busy schedules. Heather had plans with her parents that weekend, which left little time for them to meet up and discuss it. With free time on table, she spent the weekend with Martha, JD, and Betty trying to think up ridiculous things to write to continue on with the plan. She hadn’t sent any then, as Heather had asked her not to message her that weekend, due to her being around her parents, but Veronica now had a wide selection of random facts and quotes to choose from.

Veronica sent the next message during her third period French class, the first class she was alone in. She didn’t have to long to see Heather’s reaction, as Heather grabbed her the moment she entered fourth period and dragged her back to their seats.

“He sent another one,” Heather hissed, leaning over towards her, keeping her voice low so the class wouldn’t hear.

The scent of cherries overwhelmed her. Veronica gulped. She was way too close, she thought as she stared at Heather, the color of her eyes vibrantly visible at close range.

Veronica forced herself to pull it together and tried to focus on the present. “What did it say?”

Heather leaned back to grab something, and Veronica let out a breath as the scent of cherries faded enough to let her think. Heather wrote something down on a sheet of paper, folded it up, and handed it to her. Veronica took it, opening it enough so that only she could read it. On the page was the message she had sent about a half an hour ago.

**Onions have layers**

“Huh,” Veronica said, trying to act aloof.

“What does that even mean?!” Heather asked, agitated.

“Well, I mean, they do. Factually speaking.”

Heather glared at her. “Fuck off. You know what I meant.”

“I mean, these messages have always been random, right? Maybe it’s keeping with that theme.”

A vein seemed to grow on Heather’s forehead. “But why the fuck-”

Heather’s sentence was cut off by the bell ringing. She growled. “We’ll finish this at lunch.”

* * *

“‘Onions have layers?’” Duke repeated at their table. “That’s… not what I would have expected to see.”

Veronica took a bite of her lunch and suppressed a smirk. “So, I guess your movie theory is officially out, huh?”

Duke sent a half hearted glare her way and Veronica let her smirk fully appear. She knew she shouldn’t mess with Duke so much, especially since their relationship was still recovering, but it was too much fun in this case, considering she was behind it all. Besides, Duke wasn’t trying to incinerate her with her eyes, so she figured Duke knew she was only teasing rather than being full on hostile.

“Focus, ladies,” Heather said, grabbing their attention. “We didn’t accomplish shit on Friday because _someone _suggested we watch _Dead Poets Society_ even though _someone _knew she was gonna cry during it.”

They all stared at McNamara who blushed slightly under their gaze. “I don’t recall any of you saying no.”

“I did,” Heather said. “Loudly. And I was still overruled in my own house.”

Heather glared at Veronica as if it was her fault. Veronica took a sip of her drink, avoiding Heather’s eyes. She’s voted to watch the movie solely because she liked it. The fact that it had impeded Heather’s goal was just an added bonus.

Heather huffed. “Useless. All of you.”

“Well we’re here now,” McNamara said, “with no movies in sight. So let’s work on it now.”

“Yeah,” Duke chimed in. “Let’s work through what we’ve got. As of right now, you’ve gotten a series of messages that all seem random. Is there anything they all have in common?”

They were quiet for a moment, the three Heathers lost in thought. Veronica tried to mimic them, not wanting to seem suspicious. She knew they were going to catch on to what her plan was soon and realize that she was hiding something in the messages. But Veronica hoped she would have at least have another day before they start decoding.

“I’ve got it!” Duke said. “What if it’s a code?”

Fuck.

“Go on,” Heather said, her attention fully on Duke, comprehension dawning on her face as she put the pieces together.

“Think about it: why else would you get all these random messages without him acknowledging them at all? These messages, they all have to be a piece of the true message he’s trying to tell you.”

“That’s totally it!” McNamara said, smiling. “He must be trying to tell you who he is without outright saying it! That’s the only thing he’s really hiding!”

‘So much for another day,’ Veronica thought. They nailed it right on the head.

Heather nodded slowly, an unreadable expression on her face. Veronica’s frowned. She was up to something.

“Yes,” she said, “that makes sense.” Her previous frustration seeped back into her gaze as she reached into her bag and grabbed a pen. “Well, let’s see what he has to say about that.”

Veronica’s eyes widened. She wouldn’t. Not in front of the whole cafeteria.

She would.

Heather lifted her sleeve and Veronica braced herself as the pen reached Heather’s arm. Don’t react, don’t react, don’t react. The cool sensation broke out as Heather wrote her loopy handwriting on her arm. It was surreal, seeing the bond in action like this, watching Heather write on her own skin as she felt it appear on the same place on her own arm. She forced herself not to flinch, not to give any sign that she could feel the message.

It was good she did too, because Heather wasn’t looking at her arm as she wrote her message, instead scanning the cafeteria like a hawk, looking for anyone reacting in the slightest. McNamara and Duke looked gobsmacked at Heather’s unprecedented action, but followed her lead, looking for anybody suspicious. Veronica looked at Heather’s complete message and saw the words that now marked both of their skin.

** _Is this some code shit?_ **

The cool sensation gone, Veronica found it easier to keep it together. She played along, looking over the cafeteria for someone reacting, even though she knew she was the true culprit.

After a minute, Heather growled.

“Damn it.” She said, shoving her sleeve down. “I thought that would work.”

“Maybe he expected something like that,” McNamara said sympathetically.

“Yeah, I mean, he’s devious enough to evade you for this long,” Duke said, “maybe he figured you'd do something like that.”

Heather sighed. “I guess.”

Veronica definitely had not anticipated Heather would do something like that. Heather had never even written a message in front of them. The last thing Veronica thought she would do is write a message in front of the whole damn cafeteria.

Still, at least, she managed to avoid detection, she thought as she took a bite from her food.

Lunch proceeded in the usual fashion after that. Veronica and Duke conducted the poll and then they discussed the results until the bell rang, signaling lunch was over. They went their separate ways after touching up their makeup and hair in the bathroom, with McNamara and Heather heading to the class they shared together while Veronica and Duke went down different paths.

Once alone, Veronica used her time to her advantage, sneaking back into an empty bathroom and heading into an open stall. After all, her next class was study hall so she doubted her teacher would care too much if she was a little late. Lifting her sleeve, she found the same message she saw Heather write minutes earlier. She let her fingers graze the red letters, following each loop.

‘Well, if Heather’s figured out it’s a code,’ Veronica thought as she pulled out her blue marker, ‘might as well give her an answer.’

**Is it?**

That didn’t mean she couldn’t be coy though. Veronica smiled before heading to her class.

* * *

Two days passed, and much to Veronica’s amusement, Heather seemed to be growing more and more frustrated with the each passing message.

“Look, I don’t care if this is all a part of some code,” Heather seethed to Veronica during their shared class. “These messages are just getting more and more ridiculous.”

She wasn’t wrong. Veronica had purposefully been using the most ridiculous messages now that Heather was in on what was going on. She hadn’t sent today’s message yet, but she was planning to do it before lunch so she could see most of Heather’s reaction.

Veronica pulled a sympathetic face. “Maybe they’re fucking with you more now that you know something’s up.”

Heather huffed. “Well it’s not appreciated.”

Veronica bit back a smile. There was something about the way Heather was pouting, with her lip jutted out ever so slightly that it looked natural and not forced, that was almost… cute.

Veronica cleared her throat, trying to snap herself out of it. Bad thoughts. She needed to stop thinking like that. Over the last few days, she caught herself a few times thinking like that and it unsettled her. She shouldn’t be having thoughts like that. Even if she did have a crush on Heather (which she didn’t), there wasn’t a chance in hell it was going to be reciprocated when everything came out.

“You alright, Ronnie?” Heather asked, an eyebrow lifted in concern.

Veronica nodded, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, just something in my throat.”

Heather gave her a look that said she didn’t believe her. “If you say so.” She tossed some of her hair behind her shoulder. She opened her mouth to speak.

The bell rang, and Heather groaned as Ms. Fleming started the lesson. Time passed slowly as class went on and the lecture eventually dissolved into one of Ms. Fleming’s tirades like it always did. Veronica took notes, taking care to write a little differently than normal, just in case Heather decided to look over. Heather had never really paid much attention to her handwriting outside of her forgeries, but better safe than sorry.

Soon, it was lunch time, and time for Veronica to enact her plan.

“Hey, I’ve gotta hit the bathroom,” Veronica said to Heather as they walked side by side down the halls. “Meet you in the cafeteria?”

Heather rolled her eyes. “Fine, but hurry up. We’re doing the poll together today.”

Veronica nodded, already heading in the other direction. “Yeah. Be right there.”

Veronica made her way to the nearest bathroom, wanting to write her message as quickly as possible. Reaching it, she saw the room was empty, each stall open and no one at the sink. Veronica swiftly decided to forgo the stall, and pulled out her marker as she stood in front of the sink. She didn’t want to test Heather’s patience any more than she needed to, and this was the quicker method. Pushing up her sleeve, she began to write. She was only halfway through when the bathroom door creaked open.

Veronica froze mid stroke, her gaze turning to a horrified one as McNamara entered the room. McNamara smiled at her.

“Hey Ronnie!” She said. “I thought you’d be helping Heather with the poll.”

“I am,” Veronica answered, highly aware of her exposed arm. “I just had to do something first.”

McNamara noticed Veronica’s uncovered arm and her smile turned teasing. “Writing your soulmate? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do that.”

Veronica felt sweat form on the back of her neck. “Oh, yeah, I just usually do it in private.”

Not wanting to take any chances, Veronica went to finish the message, trying to get her arm covered as quickly as possible.

“That makes sense, that’s like how Heather used to… wait a second!”

Too late. Veronica had just finished the last letter when McNamara focused more intently on the arm. Her eyes widening, McNamara grabbed it before Veronica could react and gasped as she looked it over. Veronica struggled to free herself, but McNamara’s grip was surprisingly strong.

“Oh my god!” McNamara exclaimed, looking frantically between Veronica and her writing. “OH MY GOD!”

Veronica shook her arm free of McNamara’s loosened grip. “I can explain!”

“It’s you! Oh my god, it all makes sense!” McNamara continued, lost in thought and not paying attention to her. “I thought it was weird you kept wearing you kept wearing long sleeves no matter what! And this explains why you’re not really contributing to Heather’s search, even though you’re super smart. It’s because you were the one we’ve been searching for this whole time!”

She paused, looking to Veronica again. “Wait, I don’t get it. If you know how much Heather wants to find you, why are you keeping it a secret?”

“Come on, Heather,” Veronica said, feeling like she was stating the obvious, “you know how I opened the bond. I couldn’t say anything when Heather already hated me for what happened at the party.”

McNamara gave her an exasperated look. “Heather never hated you, Ronnie. Ok, so she was really mad and didn’t let us say your name until you guys made up, but she’s not mad at you anymore! Both as Ronnie and as her soulmate.”

“Maybe, but what about when she finds out that I’ve been keeping this from her for weeks? And even worse, that I’ve been keeping it from her right under her nose?” Veronica sighed, looking away. “And it’s not even about her being mad. I don’t want to hurt her by revealing I kept something this big from her. It’s bad enough that I kissed her at the party without her knowing the truth.”

McNamara frowned. “That’s silly. Sure, she might be hurt at first, but in the end, she’ll probably be relieved it’s you.”

Veronica snorted, rubbing the back of her neck. “I doubt that.”

“I’m serious! Right now, she thinks she’s talking to some random stranger. But really, she’s talking to someone she already knows and likes.”

“Sure, Heather might like me as a friend, but I don’t think she likes me the way she does her soulmate. She talks about her soulmate as if I’m her secret lover. How could I be anything more than a disappointment when she finds out I’m a girl when she’s into guys?”

An amused expression flit across McNamara’s face and Veronica’s brow furrowed in response. What was so funny about what she said? As if sensing her confusion, McNamara’s expression turned more sympathetic.

“Well, maybe you’re platonic soulmates. You know, like Kurt and Ram?”

Veronica frowned. She hadn’t even thought of that option. While not as common as romantic soulmates, platonic ones weren’t rare. It was entirely possible her and Heather weren’t compatible to be anything more than close friends. But something about that didn’t sit right in her gut. The thought of her and Heather being forever platonic just seemed… off.

But it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter if she had a crush (which she didn’t). It didn’t matter what she felt their bond might be. Because Heather likes boys, which meant they’d only ever be platonic. The sooner she came to grips with that, the better.

“Yeah,” Veronica answered, resigned. “Maybe we are.”

McNamara stared for a moment, looking at her as if she was realizing something as she did so. Veronica shifted under the stare. She felt like she was being analyzed.

After a moment, McNamara spoke. “Whatever you say. But whichever you think it is, I think we should tell Heather.”

McNamara’s words snapped her out of her funk. “You can’t!” Veronica exclaimed, her fear of discovery returning in full force.

“But Veronica-”

“I’m serious, Heather. You can’t tell anyone, not even Duke. Please, I’m going to tell her eventually; that’s why I started the coded messages. I just need more time before I’m ready. Please, please, _please_, Heather!”

A conflicted look overtook McNamara’s face. Veronica knew it wasn’t fair to make McNamara keep such a big secret from her friend, but she was desperate, and desperate times called for desperate measures. 

McNamara sighed. “Ok.” She said, resigned. “Ok, I won’t tell her, I promise.”

Veronica slumped in relief, the weight on her chest lifting. “Thank you, Heather, thank you.”

“But you have to tell her soon,” McNamara continued. “I can’t keep this secret forever and we both know the longer that passes, the worse her reaction’s going to be”

Veronica sighed. “That’s fair. I guess.”

McNamara nodded. “Anyway, you should probably get to the cafeteria before Heather starts wondering what you’re up to. She’s probably waiting to get started on the poll.”

Veronica rubbed the back of her head. This certainly wasn’t how she expected this bathroom trip to go. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

* * *

“There you are!” Heather exclaimed, clipboard in hand, as Veronica and McNamara walked into the cafeteria together. “I was beginning to think you somehow drowned in there.”

“Sorry Heather,” Veronica said, quickly putting her things down at her spot on the table. “I got caught up.”

“Hmm,” Heather hummed, pursing her lips.

“It’s my fault, Heather,” McNamara said and the two of them looked at her, Heather with confusion and Veronica with surprise. “I needed help on some problem for class and I completely forgot you guys were doing the poll today.”

Heather glanced between the two of them, suspicious, as if not quite believing their story. Eventually, she sighed. “Fine. You’re off the hook, Veronica. Just don’t let it happen again.”

“It won’t, Heather.”

Heather nodded and turned around towards the table to grab something. Seeing an opportunity, she shot a grateful look to McNamara and mouthed ‘thank you.’ McNamara gave a small smile in return.

* * *

_Veronica was doing her homework at her desk when a sharp rapping on her bedroom door got her attention. Her brow furrowed as she got up._

_‘That’s odd,’ she thought, ‘Mom and Dad shouldn’t be home until later.’ _

_Opening it, she found Heather, dressed in that red blazer that she was the fondest of, looking royally pissed. _

_“Heather, what’s going on? How did you get into my house?” _

_Heather pushed past her and entered the room, before turning around abruptly. “I know.”_

_Veronica paled. “Know what?” She asked, playing dumb._

_“Don’t be a pillowcase. Heather told me everything.”_

_Veronica’s heart thumped against her chest. Oh god. “Heather I can explain-”_

_“No need.” Heather said, putting her hand up. “My main concern right now…” Heather got closer until she backed Veronica against the wall, her arm blocking any escape. “…is how you’re gonna make it up to me.”_

_Veronica gulped, barely able to focus due to their proximity. A wave of confidence she didn’t know she know she had in her swelled in her chest._

_“I think I know of a way,” she said, breathless._

_Heather smiled, her perfect teeth on full display, before they leaned towards each other. Veronica felt Heather’s lips on hers. She smiled before she reciprocated with full force. _

* * *

Veronica’s eyes shot open. She sat straight up in bed, gasping for breath. Her room was almost pitch black, the only source of light coming from moonlit window and the stark red letters of her alarm clock, reading 2:42 AM. Still breathing heavily, she got out of bed and headed for her desk, knowing there was no way in hell she was gonna be able to sleep now.

Veronica turned on her desk lamp and pulled out her diary, still thinking about dream Heather’s kiss. Grabbing her pen, she opened to a blank page and started writing.

_Dear Diary,_

_We have a problem. A big one._

_I think I might actually have a crush on Heather Chandler._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! 
> 
> I am so so sorry for the long wait. I kept trying to get this chapter out, but it was a real struggle. As I mentioned on a post on my writing tumblr, I've been having a really tough time these last few weeks. I've been tired, stressed, and depressed, and finding the motivation to write has been really tough. I'm hoping now that the end of year has passed that things will settle down so I can get the rest of this thing out. I'm hoping to get the next chapter out soon, so fingers crossed that I can get it out in two weeks. 
> 
> I hope you guys liked the chapter. Let me know what you guys think!


	9. i don't know what to do; i think i'm falling for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica and Heather both come to some realizations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold Text: Veronica’s messages  
Bold Italics Text: Heather's messages

“So, what exactly do the random messages mean?” McNamara asked Veronica.

The two were sitting at their table during their shared seventh period science class. They were supposed to be working on an assignment, but McNamara was far more interested in using their one class away from the others to hound her for details.

“Is this really the best place for this conversation?” Veronica asked, raising her eyebrows, nudging her head to indicate their crowded classroom.

McNamara waved her hand dismissively. “We don’t have any other place to talk about this and no one’s paying attention to us. Now come on! What’s the point of them?”

Veronica sighed, sensing she wasn’t getting out of this. “You guys already figured it out. It was to hide a code.”

“I knew that much. Why the randomness?”

“Well, me and her were talking so much and I wanted to make sure there would be a way for her to know which ones were coded.”

The teacher walked their way and the two focused on their work. When he was safely out of earshot, McNamara went back to her interrogation.

“Ok, but what was the code for?”

Veronica looked at the ceiling and took a deep breath. Why her? “I told you, you already figured it out.”

“So, I was right?” McNamara pressed. “You were telling her who you were?”

“Yes, Heather.”

“I knew it!” McNamara smiled before her expression turned questioning. “But why the code? I know you said you weren’t ready to tell her yourself, but why not just wait?”

Veronica bit her lip. “I don’t know. It just felt wrong to keep her in dark after the ki-” Veronica stopped herself, remembering where she was. “-after what happened at the party. I figured at least this way, I was giving her something, even if it was just a little. And this way, I had time to figure things out, to figure out how I felt about all of this.”

“And have you?” McNamara asked, looking more serious now. “Figured things out?”

‘That answer,’ Veronica thought, ‘was beyond complicated.’

It had been a few days since Veronica had the dream that had forced her to come to grips with the fact that she might indeed have a crush on Heather Chandler. The Thanksgiving holiday events with her parents been a great distraction and helped get her mind off the matter, but it had been eating at her nonetheless. The revelation had nothing to make things less confusing. If anything, things had become even more confusing.

Veronica accepted that she found Heather attractive, well, more than the surface level attraction she had before. Heather was always beautiful, and Veronica had always known that, but this was deeper, more distracting. Instead of focusing on the usual things like how nice her hair looked or the nice shape of her cheekbones, Veronica found herself drawn to the way she smiled, or the way she laughed.

Veronica accepted that there might be something else to her feelings about Heather, something less platonic. Looking back, she realized that they hadn’t just come out of the blue either. She remembered all the times her pulse had quickened when her and Heather had been sitting close to one another, the way she had been hyper aware of the distance that separated them. Back then, she wrote it off as it being her fear of discovery coming to the surface. But had it been something more?

And then there was Heather’s effect on her. Even before this, before they reconciled, before they got closer, there were points when Heather’s mere presence could make her forget that they weren’t the only two people in the building. All it took was a shared, meaningful glance, like the one they shared back when they were on bad terms, and Veronica would be ensnared in her gaze.

Yes, Veronica accepted she had a crush on Heather Chandler. But was she ready to deal with that? Fuck no.

“Not yet,” Veronica answered McNamara after a beat. “But I’m trying.”

* * *

Heather was not in a particularly good mood. For one, another message had appeared for the first time since before the Thanksgiving break had occurred, just as random and nonsensical as the last. And much like the last, there was no common thread linking it to the others. Trying to figure out how to decode it made her want to tear her hair out.

The other thing souring her mood was that Veronica would not be joining them at the mall, having made plans with her geek squad. Heather had made peace with the fact that Veronica still associated with them. It had gotten Veronica back into the group and restored the group’s balance, so she tolerated it. But that didn’t mean she had to like it.

Closing her locker door, Heather made her way downstairs, purposefully going the long way so she could walk by Veronica’s locker, hoping to get a chance to see her before she left. It was nonsensical, Heather knew that. She would see Veronica the next day. But she did it anyway.

She turned the corner into the hall housing Veronica’s locker and stopped in her tracks. Standing there was Veronica, as expected, but also the trench coat kid she still hadn’t bothered to learn the name of. He was wearing his signature trench coat and sporting one of those smiles that reeked of ‘bad boy,’ of leather and motorcycles. He was saying something to Veronica, and it must have been a joke, because the next moment Veronica burst out in a loud laugh. Trench Coat Boy’s grin grew wider.

Heather’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t like him. She hadn’t liked him from the start actually. She couldn’t understand what Veronica saw in him, why she had looked at him with such dreamy eyes that first day he showed up in the cafeteria. What was so appealing about him and his stupid smarmy smirk?

But Veronica was friends with him. And she didn’t want Veronica to leave the group again. So, she said nothing, instead trying to ignore his very existence.

Heather was about to turn around and go back the way she came when Trench Coat Boy’s eyes met hers. His eyes narrowed and she narrowed hers right back, sensing a challenge. Something shifted in his face, and his grin returned in full force. He said something to Veronica, pointing to the door behind him. Veronica nodded, closing the locker door behind her. Trench Coat Boy shot one last smirk at her, before slinging his arm around Veronica’s shoulders and walking away with her. He leaned over her and spoke in Veronica’s ear, and behind her back, he held up a middle finger with his spare hand.

Heather’s jaw clenched and she felt her teeth ground together as her nails dug into her palms. Her face hot, she glared daggers at his retreating back.

Why that arrogant little prick! She would destroy him, make him ever regret coming to Westerberg! That little shit had no right to fuck with her like that. If he wasn’t Veron-

Heather stopped, her white-hot rage cooling slightly as sense returned to her. Fuck. He was Veronica’s friend. She couldn’t do shit without getting on Veronica’s bad side.

Heather released her clenched jaw and huffed, her anger deflating further. Why was she reacting like this? Besides flicking her off, he hadn’t done anything to her specifically. The only thing that he’d done was make Veronica laugh and throw an arm over her shoulder. It was within his right, since Veronica hadn’t protested. Veronica was free to like whoever she wanted. If she wanted to date him, she could. There was no reason for her to be mad. It wasn’t like she wanted to date Veronica. She liked boys, not girls. And therefore, she couldn’t like Veronica like that.

Heather shook it off and walked towards the exit of the building. She didn’t want to think about this. Maybe a few new outfits from the mall could help her forget.

* * *

“Ok, what the hell was that about?” Veronica asked, amused.

JD let go of her shoulder as they walked across the parking lot. He shrugged, looking rather pleased with himself. “No reason. Just saw an opportunity and took it.”

Veronica rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Sure, whatever you say. Meet you there?”

“Yeah, see you soon, Sawyer.”

Veronica watched as he walked off to his motorcycle, before she headed towards her own car. That had been… odd. One moment, her and JD had been joking around, and the next he’s slinging his arm around her shoulder. She had almost pushed it off before he whispered for her to roll with it.

Once, his actions might have made her heart skip a beat, made her flush furiously, but over the last few weeks, her crush on him had faded. Sure, he was still incredibly handsome, they had a lot in common, and she enjoyed his company, but the spark that used to be there had gone out. She wondered how things might have gone if she had never written that message to Heather, had never figured out who her soulmate was. Would they have been happy? Would it have worked out? She didn’t know and now they never would. Things had changed too much from what they were.

Veronica pulled into an empty parking space at Family Video and parked, seeing JD do the same with his motorcycle out of the corner of her eye. Walking into the store, they found it fairly empty, probably because school had just let out. The only visible people were Martha and Betty, with the latter in her uniform behind the counter.

“Hey guys,” she said as her and JD approached the counter.

“Hey V,” Betty replied as Martha waved back. “JD. Thanks for coming here instead of 7/11. Peter needed his shift covered last minute and I could use the cash.”

“Of course,” JD answered. “Though the lack of Slurpees is criminal.”

“You’ll live.” She turned to Veronica. “So, how goes things with your crush?”

Veronica looked around the seemingly empty store. “Are you sure this is the place to bring this up?”

Betty shrugged. “Can’t be any worse than a convenience store. Now come on, how’s she taking the messages?”

“Getting more and more irritated by the day, so you know, proceeding as planned.” Veronica bit her lip. “Well except for one little snag.”

Martha’s brow furrowed as Betty raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Veronica pushed her hair back. “Heather McNamara may or may not have walked in on me writing a message to Heather, and she may or may not have seen Heather’s handwriting on my arm, and she may or may not know that I’m Heather’s soulmate. Just a little problem like that.”

Betty facepalmed as JD and Martha went wide eyed. “She knows?!” JD asked. “And you didn’t think to bring this up sooner?”

“I wanted to tell you guys when we were all together! Besides she only found out yesterday.”

“And what did she say?” Martha asked. “How did she react? Is she gonna tell Heather?”

Veronica shook her head. “She wanted to, but I swore her to secrecy, and I don’t think she’s going to tell. As for how she reacted, besides the initial shock, she took it okay, like it made sense.”

“Maybe it’s because your crush on her is obvious,” Betty said, teasing.

Veronica’s cheeks heated up and she looked away. “Anyway, she promised not to tell and that’s what mattered.”

“Wait,” Martha said, a growing smile on her face. “You didn’t deny it that time.”

Veronica cursed under her breath. Martha’s smile turned to a full-blown grin. “Oh my god you _do_ have a crush on her!”

“Oh, come on like you guys haven’t been saying it for like a week now!”

“Yeah, but we didn’t think you’d actually get past the denial phase.” Betty’s grin matched Martha’s. “Spill, what made you finally realize?”

Veronica remembered her dream and felt her cheeks flare hitter. “Not important. And besides, it doesn’t matter because-”

“Because of the whole secret soulmate thing, we know,” Betty finished for her, waving her hand dismissively.

“You say it almost every time we bring her up,” Martha said.

Veronica ran a hand through her hair. “I wasn’t going to say that,” she mumbled.

All three of them gave her skeptical looks.

“I wasn’t! I was going to say it doesn’t matter because Heather is straight, if you would have let me finish.”

JD, who had been silent for a while, snorted.

Veronica’s eyes narrowed. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, it’s just…” JD had a shit eating grin on his face. “…it’s just you didn’t see the daggers Heather was glaring at me in the hallway today.”

Veronica’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“Remember when I threw my arm around your shoulder? Well, I saw Heather watching and so I did that to mess with her.”

Veronica looked at him, horrified. “Oh my god, that’s what that was about?”

“What did she do?” Betty asked, looking like she wanted to burst out laughing.

“Besides her hair turning as red as her blazer and glaring at me? Nothing.”

“Why would piss her off like that?!” Veronica asked.

“Because fuck her.” JD stated, shrugging. “And besides, that’s not why I brought it up. Why would she have such a big reaction if she’s not interested in you?”

“We’re friends, JD. And she wasn’t thrilled I skipped out on going to the mall today.”

“If that’s what you think, then whatever you say, Sawyer.” JD said, still smirking.

Veronica’s eyes narrowed. “I’m serious, JD, there’s no way Heather likes me more than a friend.”

“I’m hearing you, loud and clear.”

* * *

About 30 minutes passed before Veronica had to use the restroom. As soon as she was out of earshot, Betty turned to the other two.

“So, we all agree that Heather’s got a thing for Veronica, right?”

“For sure.” Martha said.

“Unfortunately.” JD answered.

“Ok cool, just making sure we’re on the same page.”

* * *

“Hey, Veronica!”

Veronica turned around. JD was calling her from his table with Martha and Betty. Having finished the lunchtime poll, she headed over there, figuring she had time to kill before she had to report her and McNamara’s results to the group.

“Hey, what’s up?” She asked. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, we just wanted to see if we could participate in today’s poll.”

Veronica raised an eyebrow, suspicious. “The poll? As in the poll you called asinine a few weeks ago?”

JD smiled. “I’m a changed man. And besides, getting answers from a wide range of students would help give it a more conclusive result. Right?”

Veronica turned her suspicious gaze to Betty and Martha, who were watching her with amused eyes. She looked back to JD. “Ok, I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll roll with it.” She turned to her clip board. “You wake up one day to find almost everyone you know has gone missing, except one person. Who would you want that person to be?”

“Who thought up a question like that?” JD asked.

“Hey, you wanted to answer it,” Veronica said.

“So, you then.”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “Do you want to answer, or do you want to tell me what this is really about?”

“Veronica!”

She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned quietly. Opening them again and turning around, she found Heather walking up to her, looking pissed.

“Yes, Heather?”

“We were supposed to be discussing the poll results.”

“Right, I know, I was just-”

“Just answering a question of ours,” JD finished for her. She turned to see a shit eating grin on his face. “It’s fine, Sawyer. We’ll just talk about it later.”

Veronica’s brow furrowed in confusion as she noticed JD’s grin wasn’t directed at her. Turning back around, she saw Heather now looked absolutely livid. Before she had time to say anything, Heather grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away.

“Hey, what’s the big deal?” Veronica asked, glancing back at the table, where JD was looking pleased with himself. 

Heather took a deep breath, regaining her composure, but still dragging Veronica along. “You can keep your loser friends Veronica,” she said quickly, her cheeks now more pink than red. “But don’t be so public about it.”

Veronica sighed. She should have guessed that was the reason Heather was angry. She didn’t like sharing her friends. Veronica decided to let the matter drop. She doubted Heather’s pride would let her admit that much. And besides, the cafeteria wasn’t the best place for that conversation.

* * *

“So, do we have any possible candidates?” Heather asked, lining up her shot.

The four of them were playing croquet in Veronica’s backyard. Heather had thought up the idea to multitask. This way, they could get a game of croquet in, while simultaneously working on unmasking her soulmate’s identity.

“I’ve been looking over people during yearbook to see if there’s anyone I’m missing,” Duke said, “As of right now, no one fits the bill, but considering we have barely anything to go off of, it’s not too surprising.”

McNamara shot Veronica a look from where the latter was leaning against her mallet. It seemed that she was still of the opinion that Veronica should come clean. Veronica shot her one back and McNamara frowned.

“Is there anything that could help us?” Duke asked, not noticing the silent interaction. “Any details that might give us a clue?”

Heather took her shot. “Well, I know he goes to Westerberg, that he doesn’t have any siblings, and that he’s a smart ass who likes to write messages in a stupidly frustrating code, but other than that I’ve got jack shit to narrow down our list of suspects.” She motioned for McNamara to take her turn. 

Their list of suspects contained just about every guy that didn’t have a known soulmate, which was the majority of the male population of the school. Most of their brainstorming sessions nowadays had turned into them listing any guy they could think of and figuring out if it was possible if he was the one. Veronica found it exhausting. She chimed in every once and a while to make it seem like she was contributing, but considering she was the true suspect, it all seemed exhausting to her.

She wished she had a way to nudge Heather in the right direction, but as Veronica, it would make her seem too suspicious, and as Heather’s soulmate, it would tip Heather off that she knew what they were discussing. She’d just have to bide her time until the right opportunity presented itself.

“There is someone we haven’t mentioned before. What about Veronica’s boy toy?”

The sound of her name brought Veronica back to reality. “What?”

“What?” Heather asked at the same time, revulsion on her face.

“Well, think about it,” Duke continued, not looking too serious, “Mr. Trench Coat moves to town right before your soulmate opens the link, and his arms are always conveniently covered by said trench coat. Coincidence?”

“I think I’d rather drink acid than have him be my soulmate,” Heather said, her nose scrunched in distaste.

“JD’s not that bad,” Veronica protested, feeling the need to come to her friend’s defense. He could be a dick, but she didn’t like them ragging on him when they didn’t even know him.

“Oh, so you want your boyfriend to be Heather’s soulmate then?” Duke asked her, an amused glint in her eyes.

Veronica saw Heather turn her attention towards her, her look unreadable out of the corner of her eye. Veronica kept her eyes on Duke. “First off, I’ve seen him without the trench coat and he’s definitely never had Heather’s handwriting on his arms. Secondly, he’s not my boyfriend. We’re just friends.”

“Really?” Duke asked, looking genuinely surprised. “You’re not dating? You could barely keep it in your pants when he moved here.”

Veronica saw Heather’s fingers grip her mallet tighter.

Veronica blushed, remembering her past feelings and certain drunk decisions she almost made. “I mean, I did have a crush on him. But I don’t, not anymore.”

“I see,” Duke acknowledged. “Well, I guess either way, that rules him out.”

Duke moved onto the next guy on her list, but Veronica found herself tuning it out, instead more focused on Heather. Something had changed in her posture. Before she had seemed anxious, her shoulders tight and rigid, but now she seemed almost lighter, the tension gone.

‘She must really not like JD,’ Veronica thought, ‘if she’s this relieved he’s not her soulmate.’

* * *

Heather was annoyed. Their brainstorming session after school had proved pointless, yet again, as they had spent the rest of the afternoon trying to narrow down their list of names to almost no avail. Trying to figure out her soulmate’s identity was starting to seem like trying to find a needle in a haystack? Just how hard could this be?

The only thing good to come out of their brainstorming afternoon was the knowledge that Trench Coat Boy, or JD as Veronica had called him, was definitely not her soulmate, and that he wasn’t dating Veronica either. Heather wasn’t sure why it had been so relieving to know that Veronica wasn’t dating him, but she wasn’t exactly keen on thinking about it either. That was a rabbit hole she didn’t want to go down right now. Not now, when there were other things that she needed to focus on.

Looking at her notebook as she laid on her bed, she gazed over the names that they had deemed most likely. None of them seemed right. None of the people they had come up with seem to fit the picture she had in her head. Where they might fit one aspect of him, they were completely wrong in another.

Frustrated, Heather turned the page to where she had written the random messages down. There were 11 of them now and there still seemed to be nothing connecting them all together. They ranged from stupid facts to movie quotes to just plain nonsensical. Just what code could he be speaking in?

Heather had had enough. This was getting too irritating. She grabbed her marker from her bed stand and wrote on her arm.

** _Why is figuring out who you are so difficult?_ **

She didn’t expect a direct answer or even a hint, she knew better. She just needed to vent her frustration, to let him know how annoying this was for her. So it was surprising when she felt a message come in not even a minute later.

**Maybe it’s cause you’re looking in the wrong direction**

Heather starred at the message, dumbfounded.

“‘Looking in the wrong direction?’” Heather said, exasperated. “What the fuck does that even mean?!”

* * *

Heather was quiet the next day, too quiet in Veronica’s opinion. She looked lost in thought every time she saw her, and even during their shared class, she seemed more focused on whatever she was writing in her notebook than talking to her. It was off-putting. Veronica wondered if she had said the wrong thing last night when Heather had aired her frustrations. Maybe she should have been vaguer, or maybe even less vague. But then again, she had sent the last coded message yesterday in sixth period study hall. There was nothing to do but wait for Heather to figure out the code.

Heather’s silence added a layer of awkwardness to their lunchtime conversation. Duke kept shooting her worried glances while McNamara kept sending Veronica questioning looks, as if this were her fault. Which, to be fair, it was.

Halfway through lunch, Heather broke the silence.

“We’re having a brainstorming session after school.” She stated, as if she hadn’t spent the entire day silent. “Is that clear?”

“Another one?” McNamara asked, confused. “But we didn’t we just have one yesterday.”

“I got some new information,” Heather said, as if that was the only explanation needed. “Now, is that clear?” 

Discomfort landed on Duke’s face. “I can’t.”

Heather lifted an eyebrow. “You can’t?”

Duke squirmed. “I have yearbook. Remember? We pushed it back to today since Dennis had that emergency thing with his dad. That’s why I could meet up yesterday.”

“Oh yeah, how is his dad?” Veronica asked. She liked Dennis.

“Not important right now,” Heather interjected. “Fine, you can’t come. But you’ll be there, right Heather?”

Heather had turned her gaze to McNamara, who looked just as uncomfortable as Duke. “Well…”

Heather pinched her nose. “Don’t tell me. Cheer practice?”

McNamara gave her an apologetic look. “No, I have plans with my mom tonight.”

Heather let out a deep breath before turning her attention to Veronica, her gaze a full-on glare. “And you, Ronnie?” she asked, as if daring for her to say no too.

Veronica scrambled to come up with an excuse but came up empty handed. There wasn’t anything she could say that wouldn’t seem like it was coming out of her ass.

“I’m free,” she said, trying to make her smile seem as genuine as possible.

“Good.” Heather nodded, satisfied. The tension in her shoulders dissipated.

Heather started up a conversation, but Veronica barely followed along, her mind preoccupied with what the afternoon might bring.

An afternoon with Heather. Alone. Talking about her soulmate.

Yay…

* * *

“So, what’s got your panties in a twist today?” Veronica asked as she settled on Heather’s bed.

Heather paced on the open area of her bedroom floor. She hadn’t expected to be left alone with just Veronica today. She’d expected she would have the buffer of Duke and McNamara between them. Something she hadn’t realized she wanted until both had been unable to attend.

She bit her lip. Her mind was racing, just as it had been all day as she tried to figure out the meaning of what her soulmate had written last night. She had come up with a few possibilities, but she needed a sounding board, someone to bounce ideas off of. Duke had proven to be the best at this surprisingly. She should have figured. She always did love reading into things.

“Heather?”

Heather came back to the present. Stopping in her tracks, she saw Veronica looking at her in concern. Heather took a breath.

“Right. The reason you’re here.” She said, trying to recover, straightening her posture for good measure. “Last night, my soulmate gave me a hint.”

Veronica’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? They gave you a hint?”

“I was surprised too,” Heather said, resuming her pacing. “Considering he refused to acknowledge the random messages, _at all_, I hadn’t expected him to say anything.”

“Well, what was it? The clue I mean.”

“He said,” Heather took a breath. “He said I was looking in the wrong direction.”

Veronica’s eyebrows knitted together as she ran a hand through her hair. “Hmm.” She looked up. “What do you think it means?”

Heather scoffed. “Did you have a brain tumor for breakfast? Why do you think I asked you to come over?”

“Okay, okay, relax,” Veronica said, putting her hands up in surrender. “I just meant what do you have so far? I don’t want to end up repeating what you say.”

Heather pursed her lips. That wasn’t a terrible suggestion. “Well, I’ve been thinking about it all day, but I’ve only managed to come up with like, three things.”

Veronica was silent, her attention on her. Heather started pacing again.

“First, I thought he meant that he went to another school, and that by looking for him in Westerberg, we were looking in the wrong place. But I knew that couldn’t be right. Because in one of our first conversations, I made a joke about Ms. Fleming and he made one right back. So, he definitely goes to Westerberg.”

Heather paced faster.

“The second thing I thought of was that he’s an underclassman. But that’s ridiculous. Even if he is an underclassman, we haven’t narrowed our search to any particular class, even if we have looked more towards the seniors.”

Heather stopped pacing as the third option came crawling back into her head. It was one of the simplest solutions, and yet she was scared to think about it. She was scared because there was no counterpoint to it, no reason it couldn’t be true.

“And the third?” Veronica asked, her voice soft.

Heather looked to her. She looked as beautiful as ever, and her gaze, while attentive, was kind. Heather swallowed.

“There is one more thing,” she said slowly, “one more thing it could be. But it’s ridiculous, and it can’t be true, not with me.”

Veronica sat up, leaning forward slightly. There was an unreadable look on her face. “What is it?”

Heather took a deep breath, letting her eyes linger shut for a moment before opening them again. “The only other option I can think of is that… is that my soulmate is a girl.”

Heather thought saying it out loud would make it more bearable to think about, would make it easier to cope with. Instead, Heather found words flowing past her lips like a dam had burst.

“It’s the only option that I can’t rule out. My soulmate knows I think they’re a guy and while they’ve never said anything to say they’re not, they could’ve just been taking advantage of the fact that I was looking in the completely wrong place for them. It’s the only explanation I’ve got so I need you to come up with something else, Veronica. Something, anything else, because this all fits together too well and I don’t know if I can handle it, so please, please-”

“Heather, calm down,” Veronica said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Heather hadn’t realized she had started pacing again until she was stopped. At some point in her tirade, Veronica had gotten up from the bed and was standing in front of her, looking worried. Heather forced herself to pull it together, taking deep breaths to steady herself. It was embarrassing, the way she had gone off the rails like that.

Heather made eye contact with Veronica briefly, before nodding and looking away. She felt Veronica squeeze her shoulder before letting go and sitting back down. Heather followed her lead. Getting off her feet might do her some good.

They were quiet for a moment before Veronica broke the silence. “So,” she started, clearing her throat, “besides the clue, what makes you think they could be a girl?”

Heather took a moment to answer, gathering her thoughts. “Honestly? Nothing that would hold up in court.”

Veronica rolled her eyes, a small smile on her face. “This isn’t a courtroom, Heather. Come on, there has to be something if you’re this freaked out about it.”

“That’s just it,” Heather said, “I don’t. At least not really. Any piece of evidence I have I could just as easily use to say they’re a guy. But…”

“But what?”

Heather looked at Veronica, and the memory of her lips on hers came back to the forefront. She remembered how good it felt, how right it felt. No kiss she ever had with a guy, and she’d had many, had even come close to making her feel what she had in that moment. Even now, with them alone in her room, not dressed up for any occasion, she felt more for Veronica than Kurt or Ram or… or any boy at all. Veronica who was looking at her so earnestly, who looked like she cared, whose brown eyes she could melt in.

Oh.

_Oh._

“I just know,” Heather said, swallowing and averting her eyes.

She felt Veronica’s hand rest on her leg. She didn’t move it. She took a deep breath and looked back at her, finding Veronica looking at her with a soft expression.

“She’s a girl, isn’t she?” Heather asked, her voice quieter than she intended.

Veronica’s brow furrowed and a concerned look crossed her features.

“Are you okay with that?”

Heather remembered the feeling of Veronica’s soft fingertips grazing against her cheek.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, “but I think I will be.”

Veronica smiled and Heather felt herself smiling back. They were close. She smelled like lavender.

Heather jumped back, hyper aware of how close she had been to kissing Veronica again. She stood up and cleared her throat as Veronica ran a hand through her hair, her face red.

“Right, so we need to start over,” she said, avoiding Veronica’s eyes. “Scrap the other list, we’re going to have to start from scratch.”

* * *

_Dear Diary,_

_Just when I think I’ve got a grip on things, something always seems to shake it up again._

Veronica wrote in her diary, monocle in place, hoping that writing down her thoughts would help her make sense of everything that had occurred that afternoon.

She was glad Heather had interpreted her hint correctly, even though she knew it meant she might be in the crosshairs soon. Aside from her initial freak out, she seemed to almost take it… well, as if it had been the final piece to a puzzle that had been plaguing her. Veronica didn’t know what to make of it or the way Heather had looked at her during their conversation, as if she was coming to a realization while she stared. She had been so close that Veronica had smelled her cherry scented shampoo, that she had felt herself moving closer on instinct. The only reason she hadn’t kissed her was because Heather had moved away and abruptly changed the subject.

It confused her. Heather had said she’d be okay with her soulmate being a girl, but had said nothing that suggested that her feelings had changed in any way. Did that mean Heather liked girls? But she had jumped away so quickly from her. Maybe she liked girls, but not her. It was too confusing.

Whatever the case, they had moved onto listing new potential suspects, all girls this time. They hadn’t made it far, mostly because Veronica wasn’t actively trying to help, but also because the ones Heather thought up, she immediately dismissed, mostly for petty reasons.

As she continued to write, Veronica felt the tell-tale feeling of Heather writing a message. Putting her pen down, she looked on as the red loopy handwriting appeared on her arm.

** _I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said last night_ **

** _About looking in the wrong direction_ **

Heather paused and Veronica imagined she was taking a deep breath to steady herself.

** _You’re a girl, aren’t you?_ **

Veronica smiled sadly and wrote back.

**Yes, I am**

Heather didn’t respond. Veronica waited a minute for a reply, and when one didn’t come, she wrote another message.

**Are you mad?**

The response was instant.

** _No_ **

** _Just surprised_ **

There was another pause, but before Veronica could answer, Heather continued.

** _I always knew that boys could have boy soulmates, and girls could have girl soulmates_ **

** _But I never thought mine would be_ **

** _It’s just that_ **

Heather stopped the message mid-sentence, before erasing the last two messages. Veronica, wanting to hear what she had to say, pushed on.

**Just what?**

Heather didn’t respond for a half a minute, but soon cleared space on their arm and wrote back.

** _It’s just that Kurt and Ram, or Heather and Heather_ **

** _They don’t feel the way about each other that I feel about you_ **

Veronica dropped her marker and stared at Heather’s message. She reread it over and over, her heart hammering against her ribs. Heather liked her, in a romantic way. She ran a hand over her face. What was she supposed to say? Supposed to do? She felt an urge to come clean, to say who she is, but squashed it down. No, she had already given Heather all of the code. It wouldn’t be long now. She couldn’t reveal herself, but she had to say something.

But what to say? That was the question. She needed to be honest, but she was still so confused about her own feelings that she couldn’t be sure. She knew she had a crush, that she found Heather attractive, that she felt differently about her than she did her other friends. But was it enough to justify saying she undoubtedly had romantic feelings?

Veronica remembered the night of the Remington Halloween party and how vulnerable Heather had been in the aftermath. She remembered the night of Kurt and Ram’s party, and how her kiss had ignited something in her. And she remembered just this afternoon, when they had been so close, almost intimate in that moment. In that moment when Heather had been open, honest with her, when she let had actually let her past her walls.

Veronica remembered, picked up her marker, and answered honestly.

**I think I feel the same way about you**

Veronica let out a deep breath. Fuck, this was way too heavy for a school night. She was taken aback when Heather answered back quickly.

** _Then why won’t you just tell me who you are so we can talk about this in person?_ **

** _Why all the secrets, codes, and games?_ **

Veronica bit her lip. That was a fair question. She knew beating around the bush wasn’t a good option here, and so again, she answered honestly.

**I’m afraid **

** _Afraid of what? Of me? Do I really scare you that much? Even now?_ **

Veronica shook her head, despite knowing Heather couldn’t see it.

**No**

**I’m scared that when you find out who I am, who I really am, you’ll feel differently, that you won’t want to talk to me ever again**

Veronica gulped.

**I don’t want to lose you**

Heather took a moment to reply.

** _That’s stupid_ **

Veronica let out a noise, offended. She had just laid her heart bare and Heather called it stupid? What the fuck? She gripped her marker tightly, ready to say something, when Heather continued.

** _You won’t lose me_ **

** _Maybe I’ll be mad for a little while_ **

** _But you won’t lose me_ **

Veronica dropped her hand, her anger leaving her, now feeling touched. That might be the sweetest thing Heather had ever said in her life.

** _Unless you’re one of those weirdos who likes New Coke_ **

And she had to ruin it. Veronica laughed, pushing her hair out of her face as she leaned back in her seat. She wrote back.

**I can honestly say I am not**

** _See? Then there won’t be a problem_ **

Veronica’s laugh subsided as she remembered her situation. As sincere as she’s being here, there was no way Heather would be so forgiving when she finds out she’s been hiding right under her nose.

‘I really hope so, Heather. I really do.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> I would like to thank you guys for the well wishes. It really meant a lot and each one brightened my day. Thank you all so much.
> 
> Fun fact about this chapter: it was originally two in my outline, but I didn't think either chapter had enough material to stand on its own so I combined the two. Which may explain why it's my longest chapter yet.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Let me know what you think!


	10. i'm like a kid who just won't let it go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heather starts to lose her patience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold Text: Veronica’s messages  
Bold Italics Text: Heather's messages

Almost a week passed since Heather had figured out her soulmate was a girl, and the Heathers weren't any closer to figuring out who her soulmate was than they before. Veronica thought she'd be relieved, but truth be told, she was starting to get anxious and impatient, wanting the truth to just be out already. It had to be better than this seemingly never-ending wait to be discovered. She thought about how the other Heathers had taken the change in the search.

McNamara and Duke had taken Heather’s revelation rather well, in Veronica’s opinion.

“Last night,” Heather had started last Thursday afternoon, pausing from what seemed to be dramatic effect, “I found out why we’re having such a hard time figuring out who my soulmate is. It turns out, that my soulmate isn’t a guy; my soulmate is a girl.”

McNamara, her eyes wide, looked to Veronica. Veronica noticed a question on her face. ‘Did you tell her? Or did she figure it out herself?’ Veronica was about to try and communicate that it was the latter, when she noticed that Heather had her eyes on them, or more specifically, McNamara, her cheeks reddening. McNamara noticed too and looked towards Heather, and the questioning look morphed into what looked like a teasing smile, with something else Veronica couldn’t recognize at her current angle. Heather’s glare grew narrower. Veronica frowned. She knew Heather was oblivious to the truth, but she felt like she was missing something.

“Your soulmate’s a girl?!” Duke asked, incredulous. “Are you serious?”

“Is that a problem, Heather?” Heather shot back, turning her attention back on Duke.

“Of course not,” Duke replied quickly, “Mac’s my soulmate; why would that be an issue? I’m just mad that we’ve been searching in the wrong direction.”

With that, Duke had started compiling a new list of candidates, using her time in Yearbook to put it together. They hadn’t had time to discuss it though, until now, the following Monday.

“Right, so I think we can rule out Courtney,” Duke said, her notebook in front of her.

They were sitting at Veronica’s patio table. Heather had dismissed the idea of playing a game of croquet, wanting to give this matter her full attention.

Heather snorted. “Of course we can. She may not have a known soulmate, but there’s no way it can be her. All she cares about is herself and her image. Next.”

Veronica thought that was rich coming from Heather, since she spent a good amount of time thinking about her image and popularity, but since Veronica still had some sense of self-preservation, she said nothing.

Having looked over Duke’s list of possible candidates, Veronica couldn’t help but feel offended she hadn’t made the cut. She knew that was technically a good thing, as she had spent the last month or so actively trying to avoid detection. But as the true person they were searching for, she felt a little put out. As far as Duke and Heather knew, she fit all the criteria they were looking for. She suspected Duke knew this too, as she kept shooting suspicious glances her way, but for whatever reason, she didn’t add her to the list.

Veronica had vented her frustrations to the others yesterday when they had met up at 7/11 that morning. Instead of getting the sympathy she’d expected, they’d all laughed at her.

“What’s so funny?” Veronica asked, pouting.

“It’s not you, Veronica,” JD answered, his eyes slightly watering from his laughter.

“Maybe not to you, JD” Betty said. “I think it’s hilarious that Veronica’s mad she hasn’t been caught yet, considering how much she’s ranted about keeping this a secret.”

“Thanks Betty,” Veronica said dryly.

“What I think is more hilarious,” JD said, “is that Heather still hasn’t figured it out yet. How can she be that oblivious?”

“Considering who her soulmate, I’m not surprised,” Betty teased.

“Hey!”

“It’s ok Veronica,” Martha said, patting her shoulder. “I think it’s sweet you’re both so oblivious to things.”

“Et tu, Martha?” Veronica said, putting a hand on her chest. “And just what am I so oblivious to?”

“Oh, you know,” JD drawled. “Just about everything concerning Heather.”

“What do you mean? I think I’ve got a pretty good understanding about what’s going on.”

The three laughed again and refused to elaborate further. Veronica sulked for the rest of their hangout. Just what could she be missing? She wondered if what they were referring to was the same thing that Heather and McNamara had exchanged glances over. But what? Heather clearly hadn’t figured it out yet so it couldn’t be that. No, there was something she was missing alright, but unfortunately, she really was oblivious to what it could be.

Not that Veronica would ever admit that to the three of them. Fuck that. She’d rather figure it out herself than let them have the high ground over this.

* * *

‘This is getting to be ridiculous,’ Heather thought as she crumpled up the piece of notebook paper she’d been working on and threw it at the trash can.

It missed. She growled to herself, cursing her bad luck.

It had almost been a week and her soulmate’s identity still eluded her. It was especially frustrating now, after that conversation where Heather disclosed her feeling, something she rarely did. Heather didn’t like to feel vulnerable, not in the slightest. She’d rather die than let herself appear weak in public. But with her soulmate, after their initial hurdle, it had been easier. Maybe it was because no one was whispering about what she said, or maybe it was because it felt like her soulmate seemed like she actually cared, but revealing what she had, had felt good, freeing. It helped that her soulmate had reciprocated and been honest about why she’d gone through so much trouble to conceal herself. But that didn’t take away the frustration that came with not knowing.

Heather grit her teeth. She’d had it. She wanted, no _needed_, to look her soulmate in the eye and talk about this, face to face. Fuck this code. Fuck it. She didn’t care anymore. She needed to know. She threw her notebook aside and grabbed her marker. She held up her bare arm and wrote.

** _I give up, I can’t take this anymore _ **

** _This code is impossible_ **

Her soulmate didn’t respond immediately. Heather tapped her nails against her bed, impatient. After a moment, she answered.

**It’s not impossible**

Heather clenched her fist, trying to keep her cool.

** _Just tell me what it says so we can move on_ **

** _This is stupid_ **

**Hey I put a lot of thought into this**

Heather felt like screaming into her pillow. Why was she being so difficult?

** _Oh, come on_ **

**Look, I already sent every part of it and I put too much work into it to back out now**

**I promise it’s not impossible**

Heather growled. She picked up her pillow and screamed into it. It felt good. Having released some of her frustration, she huffed and glared at the messages. She needed to end this once and for all, so she could finally see her in person. Then she’d really be able to give her a piece of her mind.

* * *

“We’re having a decoding session after school today,” Heather announced as they redid their hair and makeup in the bathroom after lunch.

‘Whoa, déjà vu,’ Veronica thought, glancing at Heather through the mirror. She should have figured this was coming after their conversation last night.

“Didn’t we just have one yesterday?” She asked, pretending to be confused.

“And?” Heather narrowed her eyes at her through the mirror.

“And I thought we were taking the day off to refresh ourselves.”

“We were, but things have changed. I need… I want this thing done and over with. If we put our heads together, we should be able to crack this code, once and for all. Which is why we’re not going to stop until we figure it out or until we have to stop for the night, in which case we’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow.”

“Except there’s a problem,” McNamara said, putting her eye liner away. “It’s Tuesday, which means both me and Heather can’t make it.”

“It’s December, Heather,” Heather said, gritting her teeth, “what could you be practicing for?”

“Basketball games, cheer competitions,” McNamara listed, looking unaffected. “You know I can’t miss it, Heather. I’m the captain.”

“Ok, fine. And you, Heather?” She looked to Duke.

Duke looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, Heather, but we already pushed Yearbook back a day last week. And that was because of an emergency. And because I’m the lead editor-”

“-You can’t miss it,” Heather said, sneering. She huffed. “Whatever. Fine.” She turned her eyes to Veronica who was caught like a deer in headlights. “And you? What’s your excuse?”

This really was going like it did last week. However, unlike last time, there was no need for her to wrack her brain to figure out an excuse, as Veronica already had plans. She doubted it was going to make a difference though. “Actually, I had plans to meet JD and the others after school…” she trailed off as Heather’s eyes flashed, her glare thunderous. “But I can postpone them, I guess.”

“Perfect,” Heather said, though it didn’t look like Veronica’s agreeing to join in had improved her attitude.

Veronica frowned. She hadn’t realized the code was going to get under Heather’s skin this much. She turned her attention back towards her hair, resisting the urge to bite her lip. Just what had she gotten herself into?

* * *

“We’ve got a problem,” Veronica said as she settled down next to Martha in her next class.

“Please don’t tell me that Heather Duke caught you too,” Martha said, exasperated.

“What? No. Why would you say that?”

“Oh. When you said there was a problem, I figured that someone found out your secret, and at this rate, Heather Duke’s more likely to figure you out than Heather Chandler is.”

“Actually,” Veronica ran a hand through her hair, “I think Heather might figure it out tonight.”

“Wait, which Heather? Duke or Chandler?”

“Chandler,” Veronica answered.

“Right.” Martha’s brow furrowed. “Why do you say that? Considering it’s been this long and she still in the dark, I figured she’d be the last one to figure it out.”

“I think she’s reaching her the limit of her patience with the code.” Veronica replied. “She just demanded we’d have another decoding session today, and I don’t think she’s going to stop until she figures it out.”

“But we have plans today,” Martha said.

“I know, I told her that. But do you think she cared? Nope. I think she might have killed me on the spot if I’d said no right after Heather and Heather said they couldn’t make it.”

Martha frowned. “That’s fair, I guess. So, are we meeting up tomorrow then? I can pass it onto Betty and JD.”

Veronica sighed, tired. “Yeah, that sounds like a plan for now. I’ll let you know if anything changes.”

Martha nodded. She was silent for a moment. “Do you think she’s really going to figure it out? Tonight, I mean?”

“She’s going to try.”

“Yeah, but do you think she’s going to actually do it?”

Veronica paused, thinking it over. “I don’t know,” she answered, “but I have this feeling that something’s going to change tonight, whether she’s figured it out or not.”

* * *

Veronica had to give it to Heather; she really could think outside the box.

When they had first arrived at Heather’s house, Heather immediately put her to work, leaving no room for questions. Pulling out her notebook, she took a blank sheet and copied down the eleven coded messages and gave it to her. From there, Heather came up with a few ideas for how it might be coded.

First, she took the messages and rearranged them based on how many words each had. When that yielded no answer, she separated the messages by categories: movie related, lyrics, and random facts. When that was also revealed to be a bust, she rearranged the letters in some of the messages, hoping they would form a new message, but again nothing came from it.

With each failed attempt, Veronica could see Heather’s determination growing, as well as her frustration with both the code and Veronica. Veronica, being the one who coded it in the first place and in no rush to help, had barely contributed anything aside from helping Heather split the messages into categories. She found herself on the receiving end of an increasing number of glares the more time that passed, but she pretended not to notice.

Veronica frowned as she looked at the trash can that was full of crumpled up papers. The more she thought about it, the surer she was that she knew why it was taking so long for Heather to figure this out. Heather was giving her, her soulmate, way too much credit in how complex the code was. Based on how cryptic she had been since the beginning, Heather was assuming that the code was some uncrackable mystery, something so complex that it would take her forever to figure it out. Because of that, she was making things way more complicated than they needed to be, and was missing what was lying right in front of her.

Veronica looked at the clock. About an hour and a half had come and gone, and the sky was starting to darken. Heather had gone back to square one and was again glaring at the messages.

“This…is…impossible!” Heather hissed through gritted teeth. “What the fuck is this message she’s trying to tell me?!”

Veronica debated the pros and cons of giving Heather a hint. On the one hand, helping her would get this out in the open faster. On the other, she was alone with Heather, with no witnesses to save her if Heather’s reaction was less than stellar. But despite that, Veronica had a feeling if she didn’t help at all, it might be another day or two before she figured it out if she kept going at this rate. Veronica didn’t know if she could take waiting that long.

“Maybe you’re overthinking it,” Veronica said, making her choice.

Heather turned to Veronica, her glare less intense, maybe because she was actually contributing. “Explain.”

“Well, there’s this thing called Occam’s Razor. It’s a problem-solving principle. Long story short, the gist of it is that the simplest solution is probably the right one.” Veronica ran a hand through her hair. “Maybe we’ve been going about it all wrong, coming up with all these complicated ways the message might be coded. So, do you think it’s possible, that the answer is way simpler than you’re making it out to be?”

Heather stared at her for a moment before biting her lip. “Hmm,” she said, “maybe you’re right.” She looked back to the list. “But what could it be then?”

They were quiet for the next few minutes as Heather looked at her paper, serious. Veronica looked down at her own paper, glancing at Heather every so often, trying to make it look like she was working. She ran a hand through her hair again. She had this feeling in her gut that it wouldn’t be long now. Now that she was on the right track, it was only a matter of time.

What should she do? Veronica had thought she was ready for it to be out in the open, for Heather to know the truth, but now, as the reveal looming in front of her, she was having second thoughts. How would Heather take it? It was the question that had plagued her from the beginning. Would she angry, angry that she had kept this secret from her? Or would she be calmer, her rage dampened by the conversation they had less than a week ago. Or perhaps disappointed that she ended up being the person she was looking for. She didn’t know. It could go any of those ways, or even another direction entirely. It was impossible to guess which.

Was she ready for that? Was she ready to take whatever Heather threw at her? Was she ready to explain herself? Or should she high tail it out of there and get some distance from Heather, so that Heather could work through her reaction before they saw each other again face to face.

Veronica took another look at Heather’s frustrated expression and made her decision.

“Hey, I’ve gotta motor,” Veronica said, getting up. “It’s getting late and I’ve got some homework JD said he’d help me with.”

Heather looked up at her and rolled her eyes. “Fine, go hang out with tall, dark, and trench coat.” She said, looking back down at her notebook. “You’re clearly not focused on this anyway.”

Veronica noticed that it was the first time Heather hadn’t reacted to JD’s name. She didn’t question it though, ready to get the fuck out of there before shit hit the fan.

“Thanks Heather,” she said, grabbing her backpack and ignoring the jab Heather had thrown at her. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Heather said dismissively, not even looking up as she waved goodbye.

As soon as she was out of Heather’s sight, Veronica moved as quick as she could through Heather’s massive house without seeming suspicious, only quickening her pace when she was sure she was out of earshot. Getting in her car, she threw her things in the passenger seat and started it up, buckling in. She took one last look at the house before backing out of the driveway and heading down the street.

Veronica took a deep breath before deciding to head to 7/11. She may have pushed their hangout back until tomorrow, but she had a feeling JD would be there regardless about now. And if anyone understood the need she felt to freeze her brain, it would be him.

* * *

Heather twirled her pen in her hand, studying the notebook in front of her. It hadn’t been long since Veronica left, though Heather didn’t know how long. She was more focused on the task in front of her.

Saying Veronica hadn’t helped was an understatement, seeing as she had really only contributed when prompted to by Heather, but she hadn’t been useless either. The more she thought about it, the more Heather suspected that Veronica was probably right, that the simplest solution was probably the answer. The only problem was finding out what that simplest solution was.

Heather read the eleven messages, for what felt like the millionth time.

**I can’t believe Darth Vader is Luke’s father**

**Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote ** _Cats_ **,** _ Evita_ **, and ** _The Phantom of the Opera_

**May the force be with you**

**Very very**

**Everybody wants to rule the world**

**Redrum spelled backwards is murder**

**Onions have layers**

**Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down**

**It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this!**

**Cats can jump 8 feet in a single bound**

**As you wish**

Her eyes narrowed, Heather looked them over again and again. What was the simplest solution here? Her first thought had been an anagram, but with all of those letters, the message would have been a paragraph long. Going off of what Veronica had said, that was too long and complicated. But then what could it be? There had to be a reason for the order, a reason they were sent the way they were.

Heather stared intently at the first few messages and paused. Wait? Was that… Heather wrote the first letters of the first three messages down on a spare piece of paper.

**I A M**

“Holy shit,” Heather breathed, a rush of excitement running through her. She’d figured it out.

Without hesitation, and with newfound energy, Heather sat up and leaned over the notebook, writing down the first letter of the next message.

**I A M V**

Heather felt the corners of her lips turned up. V. Her soulmate’s name started with V. She wrote the first letter of the next message and then the next, and so on. Around message eight, the smile that had been growing on her face started to diminish as realization started to rush to her.

‘No,’ she thought as she continued decoding, needing to see the full message displayed. ‘No way.’

Soon, her decoding was done, every letter accounted for. Heather didn’t move, frozen to the spot as the truth stared her in the face.

**I AM VERONICA**

Heather blinked.

“Fuck me gently with a chainsaw.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! 
> 
> This chapter brings what I consider to be Act 2 to a close. I'm gonna be real, I did not expect to get this chapter out so quickly, but I'm glad I was able to. Sorry the chapter is shorter than normal, but this was one cliffhanger I didn't want to pass up and most of the other material that I could have used was used up in previous chapters.
> 
> Despite the short length, I hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know what you think!


	11. i took my love, i took it down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heather reels from what she just found out. Veronica panics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold Text: Veronica’s messages  
Bold Italics Text: Heather's messages

Heather wasn’t sure how long she sat there, staring at the fateful words written in her notebook. She wasn’t paying the time any attention, unable to focus on anything else but what was lying right in front of her.

**I AM VERONICA**

The words were stark against the page, but Heather couldn’t process them. It didn’t seem real. She shook her head, looking away and then looking back again, sure the name would disappear and that it would say someone else’s. It didn’t.

**I AM VERONICA**

This couldn’t be right. It didn’t make any sense. It couldn’t be Veronica, her friend, who spent a good amount of time with her. It couldn’t be Veronica, who she had kissed at the party. It couldn’t be Veronica, who had been working on this with her, had been helping her figure this out. It couldn’t be Veronica, who had barely been contributing, even though she should’ve been the one to figure it out the fastest. It couldn’t be Veronica, who would give her the smallest push in the right direction, without giving any suggestions on who it might be…

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

The more Heather thought about it, the more the pieces came together. Things she had considered odd, or as coincidences, but had dismissed, came back to her in a new light. She thought about the fact that her soulmate opened the bond with “fuck Heather Chandler” just after Veronica had left that fateful party, when she would’ve had good reason to be angry with her. She thought about the fact that she hadn’t seen Veronica wear anything without long sleeves since the party. She thought about the day she let Veronica back into the group, how she received a message from her soulmate seconds before Veronica exited the bathroom stall. Her soulmate, who for some reason, had never once sent her a message when Veronica was in the room. She thought about the fact that Veronica, who had one of the highest GPAs in their class, had done the bare minimum of decoding, when she should have been able to figure it out much quicker.

It all added up. Every piece of evidence she thought up all pointed to a conclusion that had been staring her in the face from the start.

**I AM VERONICA**

It really was her. Her soulmate had been with her this entire time. It was Veronica.

Heather felt the shock fade from her system as another emotion took its place. Heather clenched her fists, her stare turning into a glare.

“That… that…that coward!” She growled, furious.

Yes, that’s what Veronica was: a coward. This whole time she had been sitting on the knowledge that she was the person she was searching for, watching her struggle to figure it out, and saying nothing. She must have noticed Heather had been close to the truth just minutes ago, and bailed, not wanting to deal with the consequences. She ran like the coward she was.

Heather fought back a snarl. She grabbed her marker from the nightstand, ready to give Veronica a piece of her mind, ready to tell her just how pissed off she was, ready to demand that she explain herself. But she stopped, the nib of her marker hovering above her arm.

“Fuck,” she muttered as she pulled the marker away, recapping it and throwing it onto her bed.

The memory of their conversation almost a week ago returned to the forefront of her mind.

**I’m scared that when you find out who I am, who I really am, you’ll feel differently, that you won’t want to talk to me ever again**

Heather sighed, her anger diminishing somewhat but not entirely. Fuck. She couldn’t fault Veronica for being scared, all things considered. Their relationship hadn’t exactly been all sunshine and rainbows, what with the forcing her to play a mean prank on her friend, excommunication and all. She knew that Veronica had valid reasons to keep her identity a secret, especially in the beginning. If Veronica had told her then, right after the party… Heather didn’t know how she would have taken it, but she doubted it would have been pretty. But she wondered why Veronica had kept the charade up when things got better, when they were actually friendly again. Maybe Veronica had wanted to say something, to reveal herself. Maybe the reason Veronica hadn’t said anything, had made this stupid code, was because she’d already been in too deep, that too much time had passed for her to have revealed herself naturally.

Heather’s anger flared again, though, as she remembered the fact that Veronica had run away, right before Heather decoded the message. If Veronica had made the code to make it easier to reveal herself, then how come she couldn’t stick around long enough for them to deal with this?! Heather couldn’t call Veronica a coward for hiding the truth considering the circumstances, but she was definitely a coward for running now.

She glared at her arms, as if somehow, her glare would end up piercing Veronica wherever she was. What to do? She wanted to find Veronica in person and air her grievances, demand an explanation out of her, but she had no idea where Veronica was. She doubted she’d been stupid enough to go home, not now. She had said she was going somewhere, but what exactly had she said? She remembered Veronica saying she needed help with her homework with…

Heather let out a growl of frustration. JD, the fucking trench coat kid. Of course. Of fucking course, Veronica had gone running to him. Heather felt the urge to scream into her pillow. Why did it have to be that asshole? If it had been Martha Dumptruck, she’d at least be easy to find. But him? She had no idea where he lived or where he normally hung out. Fuck.

She was shit out of luck. The more she looked at the marker, the surer she was that this wasn’t something she wanted to address there. Oh no, she wanted it to be in person, where she could see the expression on Veronica’s face as the truth came out. But she had no idea where to start looking.

Heather glanced at her phone and then at the clock. Good, it was past five. Which meant someone was available for her to bounce ideas off of. She grabbed the phone and dialed Duke’s number. It rang a few times before Duke picked up.

“Hello?”

“Heather,” Heather’s voice was surprisingly even, not betraying the fury raging in her, “I need to you to get Heather and come over.”

“Are you okay?” Duke asked, a nervous lilt in her voice.

“Come over, _now_.”

Duke audibly gulped. “Yes, Heather. We’ll be there soon.”

Heather nodded to herself. “Good.”

She hung up the phone, not giving Duke a chance to ask any questions. She looked at the notebook again.

**I AM VERONICA**

Glaring, Heather slammed it shut and turned away from it. Now, it was time to wait.

* * *

Veronica drank her cherry Slurpee as fast as she could, gripping the cup with a tight grasp, not caring about the brain freeze, rather embracing it. Even when it got overbearing, she kept slurping. The freeze was just the remedy she needed. It turned her thoughts to static and not being able to think about Heather was just the relief she was craving.

“Whoa, Sawyer. Calm down!”

The cup was ripped from her grasp and the straw slipped from her lips as she tried to keep sipping. Veronica glared at JD as her brain freeze melted away.

“Hey, I was drinking that!” She whined.

“Drinking?” JD repeated, looking at her with an incredulous expression. “More like inhaling. What’s got you all worked up?”

Veronica snatched the drink back and took a short sip. JD made a move to grab it back but Veronica held it away. JD stopped his attempt, but kept his curious eyes on her.

“Heather’s about to find out.” Veronica said bluntly.

JD’s eyebrows rose before a sympathetic expression appeared on his face.

“Ok, never mind, drink as much as you want.”

Veronica paid for another drink, having drained hers, and took little sips here and there, no longer chugging like she was before.

“How did you know?” JD asked after a few moments of silence.

Veronica quickly explained her and Heather’s afternoon, and how she had bolted right before she could figure out the truth.

JD whistled. “Gotta hand it to you, Veronica,” he said, shaking your head, “I think you might have just made things worse for yourself.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Veronica asked as she took another long slip of her Slurpee. “I just… I just got cold feet, alright? I thought I was ready for this all to be over, to finally talk about this, but Heather already looked so frustrated and, I don’t know. I just panicked. I figured I’d give us both some breathing room. Looking back though…” Veronica placed the Slurpee down and put her head in her hands. “Fuck you’re right. I did make everything worse.”

“Hey,” JD said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “It’s gonna be fine. Sure, you fucked up a little, but who hasn’t?”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “Thanks, that’s exactly what I want to hear.”

“No point in shying away from the truth. Which is why I’m gonna say this: everything’s gonna be fine. She’s gonna be pissed, but we always expected she was gonna be pissed, right? What matters is that it’s not gonna last forever.”

“How can you be so sure?” Veronica asked. “How can you be sure that she’s not going to disown me the second she finds out like she did at the party? That’s she ever going to talk to me again?”

“Because I’ve got eyes, Veronica. Now, let’s get this straight, before everything hits the fan.” JD took a breath, as if centering himself. “Do you like her?”

Veronica’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“Sawyer, please don’t make this more difficult for me than it already is. Do you like Heather? As in more than friends?”

Veronica was at a loss for words. She opened her mouth and closed it a few times. She knew the answer, accepted it even. But now, as she stared at the boy she once wanted to be on the other end of her bond, she couldn’t bring herself to say it. So, she did the only things she could bring herself to do. She nodded.

JD smiled sadly. “Ok, good. Then here’s what you’ve gotta know. She’s feels the same way about you; I’d stake my bike on that. And I don’t mean you as in her soulmate. I mean you, Veronica Sawyer. The way she looks at you, Veronica… well, let’s just say I know what that looks like, know what it feels like.”

Veronica continued to gape, struggling to find words as her heart pounded. “JD…”

“Look, I’ve accepted it, alright? We missed our shot. Maybe if you hadn’t found out about the soulmate thing that night after the party, we could’ve had something. But I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.” His expression turned serious. “But that doesn’t mean, I’m gonna stop being your friend, alright? I meant what I said a few weeks ago. I’ve got your back. So, no matter how this goes, I’m with you. Ok?”

Veronica, touched, forwent a verbal response and hugged him, an action he reciprocated immediately. He smelled of leather and cologne. Veronica squeezed tight before releasing him. She gave him a small, but genuine smile.

“Thank you,” she said, looking at up at him.

JD nodded before clearly his throat, clearly awkward. “Right, so, anyway,” he stammered, avoiding her gaze, “have you gotten any messages from her?”

Following his lead, she changed gears. Veronica pulled up the sleeve on the arm Heather typically wrote on. It was still bare. “Nope, nothing.” Veronica’s brow furrowed. “She can’t still be decoding, can she?”

JD shrugged, looking more at ease. “I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Veronica raised an eyebrow at him. JD put his hands up. “Hey, just because I’m supportive of you, doesn’t mean I have to like her.”

Veronica sighed. That was fair, she guessed. She doubted the two of them would ever get along. “She was so close when I left though. I thought it’d be only be minutes, not almost more than an hour.”

“Maybe she got distracted,” JD suggested.

“Maybe,” Veronica repeated, though she wasn’t really convinced.

Veronica stared at her bare arm intently. ‘What are you up to, Heather?’ She thought, as she pulled her sleeve back down. ‘Why are you taking so long to respond?’

* * *

When Duke and McNamara arrived, having come in through the unlocked back door, Heather was pacing the length of her bedroom floor, her mind racing. She saw them exchange glances with each other.

“Hey, Heather,” Duke said, waving, a hesitant expression on her face. “Everything okay?”

“Very,” she said, using the same calm tone she’d used on the phone while slowing down her pacing.

They exchanged another glance and Heather felt a pinch of irritation that disappeared into the large wells of anger that she’d amassed almost as soon as it came. McNamara’s eyes shot around the room, searching, before landing back on Heather.

“Hey, where’s Veronica?” She asked, confused. “I thought she was helping you decode today.”

Heather stopped her pacing, the sound of Veronica’s name being spoken out loud grounding her. She clenched her jaw and then released it, her teeth grinding.

“Veronica,” she hissed, “oh, yeah, she helped alright. Helped herself.”

Duke and McNamara were silent, expressions of confusion on their faces. “What do you mean?” Duke asked finally.

Heather turned and snatched her notebook off the bed and thrust it at her. Duke took it hesitantly and looked down at the page, McNamara looking over her shoulder. Her eyes went wide and her jaw fell open.

“Holy shit!” She exclaimed, pulling the notebook closer, as if to examine the words more closely. “Holy shit!”

“’I am Veronica,’” McNamara read, her eyes still on the page. She stopped before turning to Heather in worry. “Oh god, you didn’t kill her, did you?”

Heather rolled her eyes. “Of course not. That coward left before I finished decoding.”

Duke shook her head. “It all makes sense,” she said putting a hand to her forehead. “I mean, I had my suspicions…”

“Suspicions?” Heather repeated, her voice lowering an octave. “You had suspicions and you didn’t say anything?”

Duke cowered and stumbled for words. “I’m sorry, it’s just that… I mean, I would have said something, but… well, it’s like this…”

“Wait,” Heather said, cutting off Duke’s ramblings. Her eyes were focused on McNamara. “You don’t look that surprised, Heather.”

McNamara was biting her lip and fiddling with her hair, a tell Heather knew to signify she was feeling guilty. There was no surprise on her face at all, even though she should have at least had shown some semblance of shock after the revelation.

McNamara gulped, and finally met Heather’s eyes. “I might’ve already known.” She said, apologetic.

Heather pursed her lips, inhaling through her nose, as Duke twirled around and faced her soulmate. “What?” She exclaimed. “You knew and you didn’t say anything?!”

“I’m sorry! I wanted to say something, but she swore me to secrecy!”

“How long,” Heather said through her teeth, “have you known?”

“Two weeks tomorrow,” McNamara admitted, still looking apologetic. “I walked in on her writing part of the code in the bathroom during lunch. Remember? When you and her were supposed to be doing the poll?”

Heather remembered. She remembered with crystal clear clarity how Veronica and McNamara had appeared together, McNamara claiming that Veronica had been helping her with schoolwork. She’d thought something was up then, that they were hiding something, and now her suspicions were confirmed.

“So, you’re telling me that you’ve been sitting on this information for two weeks and you didn’t tell me just because Veronica asked you not too? Whose side are you on?!”

“Both of yours!” McNamara answered, pleading. “The only reason I even agreed to stay quiet is because she swore she was going to tell you soon. And besides, you guys didn’t see her. She got really freaked out when I suggested telling you. Like, actually scared.”

**I’m scared that when you find out who I am, who I really am, you’ll feel differently, that you won’t want to talk to me ever again**

**I don’t want to lose you**

Heather felt her anger fade, but unlike last time, it faded entirely, leaving her feeling tired. She sat down on her bed, putting her head in her hands. She didn’t know what to feel. On the one hand, she was angry that Veronica had kept this from her. On the other, she was sad Veronica felt that scared of her reaction. But now, as she sat there, she became aware of something else she was feeling.

She was hurt. She was hurt that Veronica hadn’t trusted her enough to tell her. She was hurt that Veronica had kept it, going to high measures to keep her from finding out. But at the same time, there was guilt. Because she knew the reason Veronica had acted the way she did, had kept the truth from her, is because Heather had been the one to hurt her in the first place.

Heather didn’t like feeling this. She didn’t like feeling all of these things at once. She wanted to shove them away, force them back down like she usually did, but they wouldn’t stay gone, continuing to rise back to the surface against her will. She took a deep breath, trying to center herself. She would not let them get the better of her, not here, not when Duke and McNamara were in the room, watching.

Looking back up, she saw Duke and McNamara gazing at her with worried expressions.

“Are you mad at me, Heather?” McNamara asked.

“No,” she answered. ”…yes…ugh, not really. Irritated? Definitely. But I’m not pissed at you. I more pissed at myself for not figuring it out when she was literally right in front of me.”

“Honestly? I’ve been wondering the same thing.” Duke said, adjusting her ponytail. “I should have realized considering the huge crushes you both have on each other.”

Heather froze. Duke seemed to realize what she had just said, as she froze as well. McNamara looked between the two of them, her eyes wide.

Heather’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“I… uh… well…” Duke stammered again, looking nervous. “It’s just, it’s been kind of obvious that both you and Veronica have had feelings for each other for a while now.”

Heather felt the smallest hint of a blush come to her cheeks. She’d figured out she was attracted to Veronica a week ago, that afternoon when she realized her soulmate was a girl. But she didn’t see how it was obvious to anyone but her, and if it weren’t for Veronica confessing over the bond, she’d have no idea Veronica was harboring any feelings.

“What’s so obvious about it?” Heather asked, willing her blush to disappear.

McNamara snorted. “What isn’t obvious about it? Heather, you’ve been crushing on Veronica since we met her.”

Heather turned her glare on her. “I have _not_ been crushing on her that long.”

“Wait, are you admitting it?” Duke asked, astonished. “Holy shit, I never thought this day would come.”

“Shut up, Heather!” She exclaimed, the heat in her cheeks growing hotter.

“Heather,” McNamara said, looking exasperated, “please. You let Veronica in even though she was a nerd and friends with Martha.”

“And you got all mopey when you kicked her out,” Duke added.

“Her being out threw off the dynamic of the group,” Heather tried to defend.

“Ok, then how about the fact that you get angry every time trench coat kid is mentioned,” McNamara continued, ignoring Heather’s interjection.

“Or the fact that you’ve always been way more lenient with her than you ever been with us.”

“Enough!” Heather glared at both of them. “If you’re done analyzing everything I do, maybe you can start explaining how it’s so apparent that Veronica has a crush on me, when I’ve never picked up on it.”

“You mean besides the fact that you’re as oblivious as she is?” McNamara asked.

Heather let her glare be her answer.

“I didn’t notice it until after you let her back in,” Duke said after a beat, Heather turning to face her as she spoke. “She started looking at you differently than she did before.”

“She already knew we were soulmates at that point,” Heather countered. “Of course that changed things.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Duke said, “but maybe it’s because of your bond that she did start to have feelings. I caught her staring at you a lot; I don’t even think she knew what she was doing. But the way she was looking at you… I knew something was up.”

“Oh, and the kiss!” McNamara chimed in. “Don’t forget about the kiss and how she reacted afterwards.”

“Oh right, good point.”

Heather remembered. Veronica had looked dumbstruck afterwards, looking like Heather had felt. She remembered that as she was leaving with Kurt, Veronica was still in the same position, unmoving. She had taken it to mean that Veronica had been confused as to why Heather had kissed her, as to why she had caved. Had she been wrong?

She started to question herself when a fact came back to her. Veronica had kissed her back, that she remembered clear as day. But Veronica would have known at that point, had known they were soulmates for some time, and had let Heather kiss her regardless. She wasn’t angry at the fact, Veronica had tried to get out of it after all, but it irked her nonetheless.

The code had sprung up not long after that kiss. She wondered if it had given Veronica second thoughts about keeping her identity secret, if it had weighed on her. But instead of coming clean, she came up with a way to make Heather confront her instead, that made Heather do most of the work. It was annoying.

“Heather?”

McNamara’s voice drew her out of her thoughts. Her and Duke were looking at her expectantly. 

Heather cleared her throat. “Anyway,” she said, trying to change the subject, “regardless of what Veronica or I feel, there’s still the code to deal with. Heather,” She looked at McNamara, “do you know if anyone else knows about that Veronica and I are soulmates?”

McNamara shook her head. “I don’t know for sure; Veronica didn’t mention anything, but I think Martha and her other two friends know.”

Heather ground her teeth again. That would mean Trench Coat probably knew. “Of course they do.”

“What are you going to do?” McNamara asked.

“Honestly? I have no fucking idea. I’ve wanted to talk about this with her for so long, to finally talk to her face to face. But now that I know it’s Veronica, I’m not so sure. She kept this from us, from me, for weeks. And now, after all the deceit and lying, she expects me to be the one to bring it up, to admit to the truth? I don’t like that.”

“Well,” Duke said, a conniving smile on her face, “what if you get some payback first?”

Heather, who was always ready to be petty, gave Duke her full attention. “I’m listening.”

“Well it seems like Veronica started this whole thing to fuck with you, right? Back when you guys weren’t talking. Sure, you guys are on better terms now, but that doesn’t change the fact it’s probably how it started. So, here’s what I suggest. Veronica wanted you to be one to bring everything up, to confront her, but what if you make her be the one to admit it?”

“And how would I do that? What do you suggest?”

“We know Veronica likes you; her crush on you’s only gotten more obvious. So, what if we use that against her? You can make her so hot and bothered that she’ll _have_ to admit the truth, just so she can get some relief. And then, you’ll be the one on top, not her.”

“Come on, D,” McNamara said, exasperated. “Won’t it be better if Heather just talks to Veronica so all of the secrets will be done?”

“I love it,” Heather interjected, ignoring McNamara, a smile similar to Duke’s forming on her face. “That’s an excellent idea, just the right amount of pettiness. I knew I kept you around for more than just your name.”

“Yes, well,” Duke said, clearly pleased with herself. “I’m glad I could help.”

McNamara groaned, letting herself fall back on the bed. “Fuck me.”

* * *

Veronica worked on her homework at her desk, her lamp illuminating her dark room. She wasn’t getting much done, because every few minutes, she’d end up looking at her arm, willing a message from Heather to come in.

It was agonizing. Veronica had been so sure that Heather had been close, that tonight would be the end of it, the end of the secrets. What was taking her so long? She’d thought she’d given Heather the perfect hint, the solution to figuring out the code, but clearly that wasn’t the case. She’d expected Heather to write through the bond, cursing her, demanding her to give her an explanation, but it never came.

She turned her eyes back to the homework in front of her. It didn’t help that she was supposed to be doing her precalculus homework. Math wasn’t her strong suit, and with her focus split, it was even harder than usual. It wasn’t until she was halfway through one of the problems that she felt the cool feeling of a marker on her right arm.

Almost pushing the homework aside in her rush, Veronica lifted her arm up and read Heather’s message.

** _Look, I’ve been looking through all of this code crap and I’ve got jack shit_ **

** _I’m starting to think there isn’t a code at all_ **

Veronica stared, dumbfounded. She… she still hadn’t figured it out? How? Veronica knew Heather was intelligent, knew that she should be able to figure out her code. Just what the hell was she doing?

**I promise I’m not lying**

**There is a message there**

Heather wrote back quickly.

** _Whatever, I’ll figure this out eventually _ **

** _And then you and me are gonna have a talk about this nerd shit_ **

Veronica sighed, rubbing a hand on her forehead. She didn’t know why it was taking so long, but she guess she’d have to be patient. She knew Heather could decode it. It was just a matter of time. She wrote one last message before returning to her homework.

**It’s a date**

* * *

Heather watched as Veronica’s newest message came in. She couldn’t stop the smile that grew on her face as she read it, none of the anger from earlier that day present any longer. Knowing it was Veronica who had written it sent butterflies swarming in her stomach. It was astounding the difference knowing the truth made. She’d always been taken with the kind words of her soulmate. But knowing it came from Veronica added a whole other layer to it. She could imagine Veronica saying it, knowing exactly the tone Veronica would use and what expression would appear on her face. She could even imagine the exasperation that was sure to come from Heather’s feigned ignorance about the decoded message.

Heather tried to suppress the smile. She needed to be more careful. If this plan was going to work, she couldn’t let anything slip, give anything away. She needed to be as sneaky as Veronica had been.

But, then again, Veronica wasn’t here right now. In the safety of her room, Heather stopped fighting and let herself smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you guys liked the chapter! I can't believe I managed to get this out in under two weeks again. Here's hoping I can keep this writing inspiration and motivation up! I hope you guys are okay with the direction I'm going with this. I spent a lot of time debating on what Heather would do when she found out the truth, and the petty route seemed the most in character lol. 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think and thanks for reading!
> 
> 2/24/2020: Hey guys! Sorry, I haven't updated yet. Work's been kicking my ass the last few weeks and this chapter is being a terror to write. Luckily, things have been progressing well the last few nights so hopefully I can get this chapter done within a week or so. If you want to see my current progress, I keep a word count status on my writing tumblr: lsfrevanfan.tumblr.com. I also post updates every so often to explain where I am in the process, and why things may be going slower than usual. Anyway, I hope to get the chapter out as soon as possible. Sorry for the delay!


	12. rule number one is that you've gotta have fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heather enacts the beginning of her plan. Veronica is confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold Text: Veronica’s messages  
Bold Italics Text: Heather's messages

“Hey, Sawyer!” JD greeted as he approached Veronica, who was talking to Betty and Martha by her car. “How’d it go last night? Did you get an answer?”

Veronica shook her head frowning. “No. I mean, yes, I got an answer, but not what I was hoping for.”

“What answer?” Martha asked, her eyebrows scrunched together. Her eyes widened. “Oh my god did something happen with You-Know-Who?”

Veronica rolled her eyes good naturedly at the pseudonym Martha chose and shrugged. “Well, I though something was, but nothing ended up happening.”

Betty let out an exasperated noise. “And you were just going to let us talk about homework?”

“What’s there to spill. It’s just like I said, nothing even happened.”

JD snorted, looking unconvinced. “I think the panic Slurpee drinking would say otherwise.”

Veronica glared back at him as Betty lightly swatted her arm. “V, come on. You’ve gotta give us details.”

Veronica rolled her eyes, but gave a quick summary of yesterday’s events, omitting names where she could, aware of the growing number of students entering the parking lot.

“Oh my god, even after all that she still hasn’t figured it out?” Martha asked, exasperated.

“Seriously, how airheaded can she get?” JD snorted.

Veronica felt a need to defend Heather, but her own exasperation to her obliviousness cancelled it out. She sighed. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Do you really think Heather hasn’t caught on?” Betty asked. “I mean, we know Heather’s been pretty oblivious about everything, but it seems odd that she hasn’t put two and two together even after all of this.”

Veronica bit her lip. “I don’t know. It is a bit odd, but at the same time, I don’t know if Heather is patient enough to keep this to herself.” She ran ahead through her hair. “Whatever the case, I just hope she says something soon. I don’t think I can take another few days of waiting for this to be over.”

“I mean, you could tell her yourself,” Betty suggested.

Veronica and JD shot simultaneous disbelieving looks her way.

“But that’s out of the question, I know.”

Veronica opened her mouth, preparing to defend herself.

“I-”

“Veronica!”

She stopped, turning in the direction the sound of her name came from. Heather was standing near her Porsche, an irritated expression on her face. As they made eye contact, something shifted in her face before she jerked her head, beckoning her to hurry up.

Veronica sighed and turned back to the others. “Well, here goes another day in hiding. I’ll talk to you guys after school.”

“Good luck,” Martha said, waving.

“Make good choices,” JD chimed in.

“Try not to get too frustrated over your crush,” Betty added.

Veronica rolled her eyes again, a small smile on her face as she walked away from them and towards Heather. Her expression had shifted to an impatient one, her lips pursed.

“Hey, Heather,” Veronica greeted, her smile growing a tad.

“Hey,” Heather replied, her voice clipped.

Veronica raised an eyebrow. While Heather was looking at her, she seemed to be distracted, as if searching for something on her face. “Is everything okay?”

That snapped Heather out of it. “Very,” she said, starting their walk into the school. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I was talking to Martha and the others and you haven’t insulted them yet.”

Heather rolled her eyes. “School hasn’t started yet and there’s not enough people here for it to be a problem.”

Veronica frowned. “Ok, so what’s going on? Did something happen? Did you figure out the code?”

Heather looked at her again as they passed through the school doors. Something unreadable passed over her face before an indifferent expression graced it. Veronica narrowed her eyes as Heather shrugged. “No, but I’m not worried about it anymore.”

Veronica’s eyebrows shot up. That wasn’t what she’d expected. “Wait, what? But you were so worked up about it. Why would you just quit?”

A hint of a smirk graced Heather’s lips. “I’m not getting anywhere the way I’m doing it now. I’m just giving it a break while I try…” Something glinted in Heather’s eye. “…another approach.”

Veronica’s eyebrows knitted together. What the hell? “Another approach? What does that even mean?”

Heather shrugged, looking unaffected. “You’ll see soon enough. But I assure you, it’s going to be _very_ effective.”

Veronica’s eyes narrowed as she tried to make sense of it all. Just what was Heather doing? Yesterday, she’d seemed so set on decoding, and now she wanted to try something different? Was the code really giving her that much of a problem? And just what was her new plan of action? Veronica didn’t trust it. And she didn’t like the look in Heather’s eye. It was the look she got when she was up to no good. Just what could she have planned that would make her so confident?

They came to a stop as they reached Heather’s locker. As she put in the combination, Veronica studied her, looking for any hint into her motives, but found nothing. The only thing unusual was that she was still smirking, as if pleased with herself. Veronica knew Heather hadn’t figured it out yet, so just what could she be so proud of?

Heather slammed the locker shut, startling Veronica from her thoughts.

Heather raised an eyebrow. “God, Veronica, what’s your damage?”

Veronica felt her face heat up. “Nothing. It’s just… you see so sure your new plan is going to work. Just what are you planning that you’re so confident about? Are you going to draw a line down your face or something?”

Heather snorted, but her smirk remained. “Please, who do you take me for? No, I’ve got something else in mind. I’ll give you the details later.”

This did absolutely nothing to alleviate Veronica’s curiosity. Her frustration must have shown on her face because Heather laughed.

“Quit pouting. Now come on, we need to get to your locker before the bell rin- whoops!”

As she had turned to head in the direction of Veronica’s locker, Heather had dropped her binder on the ground. On instinct, Veronica went to grab it for her.

Heather stopped her with a swatting motion. “I’ve got it.”

She bent down to grab it. It was at that exact moment that Veronica realized she was in the wrong position to be in. When Heather bent over, Veronica watched as she gained a clear view of Heather’s ass. Blood rushed to her cheeks as she averted her eyes.

‘Oh god,’ she thought, ‘oh, fuck. Don’t look Veronica, don’t look!’

Her cheeks growing hotter, Veronica looked to the locker beside her. But Heather was too close for comfort, bending down right in front of her. There was nowhere she could look that could distract her from that. Despite herself, Veronica felt her eyes peek over and lock in on the view. Fuck, that skirt did wonders on Heather. How was it that even her ass looked that good?

Binder in hand, Heather stood back up. Not wanting to be caught staring, Veronica looked away, her cheeks now fully inflamed. Heather turned around to face her and Veronica forced herself to make eye contact like everything was normal, as if she hadn’t been checking her out.

“Everything okay, Ronnie?” Heather asked, using a tone of concern that didn’t quite line up with her expression. “Your face is all red.”

“Yes,” she said, her voice quick and unsteady. “Yeah, yeah, all good. Great even. Totally fine.” She cleared her throat. “Right, so, anyway, to my locker then?”

Heather’s smirk returned as she shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

“Good, good… right.”

Veronica set off, trying to get her blush under control. She was hyper aware that Heather was watching her. She struggled to get her thoughts together as her brain whirled. Just what the fuck was going on?

* * *

The moment Heather sat down in her first period, Duke was on her, leaning over towards her desk.

“How’d it go?” She asked in a lowered tone. “Did she suspect anything?”

Heather shrugged, a small smirk on her face. “I don’t think so, but she may be after what I did just a minute ago.”

Duke leaned forward even further. “Don’t leave me hanging like that! What’d you do?”

Heather smirked. “Let’s just say that when I finished, she could barely form sentences.”

Duke’s jaw dropped. “Oh my god. I wish I could have been there.”

The bell rang. Duke cursed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll give you the details later,” Heather said, pulling out her materials.

Duke opened her mouth to protest but stopped as the teacher started his lecture. Pouting, she followed Heather’s lead and got out her own things.

As their teacher droned on about the Civil War, Heather’s mind drifted back to that morning in the parking lot. When she had seen Veronica coming up to her, smiling, Heather had nearly broken, nearly come out and confronted her about everything, the crowd be damned. But she’d persisted. The payoff would be too good, and she would never have this opportunity again. If there was ever a time to be petty about the situation, this was it.

And god was it worth it. There was something so satisfying about watching Veronica try and figure out what her goal was, to find what had changed from the previous day. What made it all the better was the knowledge that Veronica still thought she was clueless to her identity, if their conversation last night and Veronica’s morning message was any indication.

**You’ve** **got this. I believe in you**

Heather had laughed out loud when she saw it. She knew that Veronica had meant it to be encouraging, for it to egg her on to finish decoding. But Heather interpreted it a different way. Instead, she used it as a sign to continue on with her plan. She could almost imagine Veronica’s exasperated expression over her thinking about it that way but screw her. Veronica’d had her fun; now it was Heather’s turn.

And fun it was. She’d originally planned to wait until lunch to start and use the remaining time to watch Veronica without arousing suspicion, but the opportunity had been too good. She’d wanted to burst out laughing when she’d seen Veronica’s face after her little stunt. She’d positioned herself in just the right way so that Veronica would have a perfect view of one of her finest _ass_ets. It’d been hilarious to watch Veronica try and keep it together, to pretend she hadn’t been looking. It made her wonder if Veronica had reacted this way before and she just had been too blind to see it. Even as they went their separate ways, Veronica’s face had still been bright red. If it was that simple to throw her off her game, then what she had planned was going to short circuit her brain.

The class breezed past and soon Heather was in the bathroom with the others fixing up their makeup. From the corner of her eye she could see Veronica shooting glances at her in between hairbrush strokes, her gaze contemplative. Heather, pretending she didn’t notice, instead glanced at McNamara every so often.

McNamara was the wild card here. Before, Heather would have trusted McNamara to go along with her plan, but now she wasn’t so sure. She was still irritated McNamara had kept Veronica’s secret from her. It was a breach of trust that made her unsure of where her loyalties lied. She’d noted the hesitation McNamara expressed when Duke came up with their plan and wondered if she’d let something slip to Veronica, if only to just let the secrets end.

“Hey, Ronnie,” McNamara said, pointedly avoiding Heather’s gaze, “can you do me a big favor?”

Veronica, who had been staring at Heather, jumped, but recovered quickly. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“I’ve been having a rough day and I was wondering if you could forge a note from Coach saying I need to help with something cheer related. You know, so I can get out of class if I need to?”

“Of course,” Veronica said, her expression shifting to a sympathetic one. She grabbed a notebook out of her bag. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” McNamara made eye contact with Heather. “Just under a lot of pressure, you know?”

Heather narrowed her eyes in warning. McNamara shot her a look that said, ‘just roll with it’.

Veronica grabbed her pen and went to work. “Damn, I’m sorry Heather. Just let me know if I can help.”

“You already are. Thanks.”

As Veronica wrote out the note, Heather watched as her hand glided against the page. The handwriting looked nothing like what showed up on her arm every day. Really, Veronica was the perfect person to pull off what she did. With all the forgeries she did, Heather had never once thought about what Veronica’s handwriting actually looked like, only caring when she was trying to imitate someone’s scrawl.

Veronica handed the note to McNamara. “No problem. I hope this helps.”

McNamara smiled uneasily. “I’m sure it will.”

Heather wanted to ask what the note was really for, but with Veronica there, she didn’t want to risk it, and her and McNamara didn’t share a class until fifth period. So, she let it go, all of them going their separate ways to second period. She’d confront her about it later.

Heather’s second period dragged, and she used the next class, study hall, to strategize with Duke. As the bell rang signaling the end of third period, Heather headed to the final hurdle before her plan could really begin: fourth period English with Veronica.

She reached class before Veronica, as usual, and found herself waiting for her to appear. This would be her last chance to study Veronica’s behavior before she truly started fucking with her. She may have blown it earlier with the bending stunt, but what was done was done. Heather didn’t regret it; Veronica reaction had been too good. She may be a little suspicious because of it, but maybe by acting normal here, Heather could lure her into a false sense of security.

Walking through the door behind one of their peers that Heather didn’t care to know the name of came Veronica at last. As their eyes met, Veronica smiled at her and Heather felt her stomach flutter. She smiled back, trying her best to ignore it.

“Hey, so do you know what’s up with Mac?” Veronica asked, sliding into her seat. “She’s never asked me for a note like that before.”

“No idea,” Heather lied, knowing full well it was tied to what as going on, “I haven’t gotten a chance to ask.”

“I just hope she’s ok,” Veronica said, frowning. She looked distracted.

‘Huh,’ Heather thought. ‘Maybe Heather was helping with the plan after all.’

Veronica seemed more focused on what McNamara was supposedly going through than her stunt in the hallway. She was a little bummed Veronica wasn’t flustered anymore, but she wasn’t too worried. She was sure Veronica would be again soon.

“So,” Heather said, trying to appear nonchalant. “Did you get the homework help you need yesterday?”

Veronica looked at her in surprise. “Huh?”

Dear God, how did Veronica ever pull this off? “The reason you left yesterday. You said you had to meet up with Trench Coat so he could help you with it.”

“Oh, right,” Veronica said, recognition on her face. “It went fine.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Got everything all sorted out.”

Heather pursed her lips at the thought of Trench Coat sorting anything out with her but swallowed the resentment. “Good. I’d hope so since you ditched me yesterday.”

Veronica blanched. “I thought you weren’t mad.”

“Oh, I’m not. Annoyed beyond belief? Sure.” Heather couldn’t help herself. “Maybe if you’d been there, you’d know why I’m not working on the code anymore.”

Veronica narrowed her eyes, as if searching for some double meaning. Heather raised an eyebrow in a challenge. Regardless of what the outcome of her decoding session was, Veronica _had _bailed on her, and she wasn’t going to let it go, soulmate or not.

After a moment, Veronica sighed. “Ok, fine, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have ditched you. I just started panicking and needed someone to talk me down.”

Heather frowned. Fuck. There wasn’t even a lie in there she could work with. Heather opened her mouth to retort when the bell rang. She cursed under her breath as Ms. Fleming stood up from her desk and started her lecture.

As Ms. Fleming started up on her crusade for the day, Heather couldn’t stop thinking about the way Veronica had phrased that. There wasn’t a single lie in it. Sure, it was vague (she hadn’t said why she was panicking), but she hadn’t lied either. She thought back to her previous conversations with her, when they talked about her soulmate, and found that she couldn’t really think of a time where Veronica had lied to her outright. She seemed to talk around the truth, instead acting dumb or turning it back on her as a question, as if trying to get her to figure it out. The only instance she could think of where Veronica had lied was just yesterday, when she left before the truth could come out.

Heather glanced at her from the corner of her eye. She was paying attention to Ms. Fleming’s lecture, her pen flying across her paper as she took notes. Peeking at the handwriting, Heather saw it was similar to what Veronica used in her messages, only a bit different in how she wrote certain letters. As she wrote, her sleeves would hitch up ever so slightly, but with a movement that seemed on instinct, Veronica pushed it down, not missing a beat.

Heather tore her eyes away, not wanting to seem suspicious. Veronica really had this down to a science. She covered herself so effortlessly that it seemed second nature. No wonder Heather didn’t figure it out that way. Veronica may have fumbled in certain areas that Heather had been too oblivious to notice, but she had to hand to her here. The girl definitely knew how to take precautions.

Still, it was a reminder of what secret Veronica had been protecting. The skill with which she hid herself was a testament to how long she’d been doing it and it irritated Heather just as much as it impressed her.

She turned back towards Ms. Fleming, still not listening to her. It wasn’t long now. Soon, she’d get to have her own fun.

* * *

Veronica walked to the cafeteria with Heather, her shoulders tense, her eyes drifting towards more so than they usually did. She was on edge. She couldn’t pin down what it was, but something was off.

On the surface level, everything seemed to be going normal, nothing veering from their usual routine. In fact, if Veronica hadn’t already been put out by the bending incident from earlier, she didn’t know if she’d have even noticed. But being on edge made her more conscious of the inconsistencies in the Heathers’ behavior.

The first thing she’d noticed off the bat was that McNamara and Duke kept trying to discreetly glance her way. It wasn’t that obvious, Veronica handed to them, but she’d noticed it nonetheless. Both of their gazes were a bit different from one another. Duke look like she was anticipating something while McNamara looked wary. Veronica almost attributed the wariness to the rough time McNamara had mentioned to be going through, but it was Duke’s eagerness that made her rule that out.

And even though she hadn’t caught Heather giving her any glances like that, the energy surrounding her was different than usual. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something was something off in the way she was looking and talking with her. Something had shifted, but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out what.

Veronica considered that maybe, just maybe, Heather had figured it out, that she knew the truth of who her soulmate was. But, she wasn’t too sure. Heather was way too invested in figuring out the truth and confronting her soulmate. If she had really figured it out last night, she would have already brought it up. Veronica was sure Heather wasn’t patient enough to hold back.

They entered the cafeteria and made their way to grab some food and then sat at their usual table. McNamara and Duke were in charge of the poll today, so it would just be the two of them, at least for a few minutes. Veronica didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. On the one hand, she might be able to get some details out of Heather about what her game plan was moving forward. But on the other, being alone with Heather was always a gamble.

“Ugh, did it have to be Salisbury steak for lunch today?” Heather grumbled as they sat down.

“I don’t know if this even qualifies,” Veronica answered, prodding the meat with her plastic fork. Scrunching her nose, she pushed it away and turned her attention back towards Heather. “Anyway, you said earlier that you were going to give details later about your plans moving forward on the soulmate front. Care to elaborate?”

Heather still staring at her food, gave a small, genuine smile, but as she looked up at her, it transformed into her usual smirk “Let’s wait until the others get back. No point in going over it twice.”

Veronica stared for a moment, looking for anything that would give up Heather’s true intentions, before shrugging. It made sense.

They ate around the questionable meat calling itself Salisbury steak as Duke and McNamara conducted the poll. They were quiet, even though Veronica had so many questions she wanted to ask. She could feel Heather glancing at her every so often, as if trying to start a conversation. Veronica tried to figure out what to say, but said nothing, knowing she wouldn’t get a straight answer until the others got back.

Luckily, they did before things got truly awkward. Duke set down the clipboard as her and McNamara sat at the table.

“Ugh, I hate talking to those snobbish assholes,” Duke said. “Remind me again why we even bother talking to a group that has Courtney in it?”

“Because if we don’t, they’ll cause more drama than we need?” Heather answered. “And not the good drama.”

“Yeah,” Duke sighed. “Oh well. I doubt this’ll get approved by the rest of the yearbook committee but at least we have something to contribute today.”

She shoved the clipboard farther away from her. As she did, she seemed to shift gears, her expression going from annoyed to enthusiastic.

“So,” Duke said to Heather, a mischievous glint in her eye, “what’s your game plan with you know what?”

Veronica sat up straighter. This is what she’d been waiting for.

Heather smirked back at Duke. She looked around the table, staring at Veronica longer than the others. “Well, it’s simple. Decoding was bringing an unexpected result, so I decided to switch things up. But first, Veronica, can I get your opinion on something?”

Veronica’s brow furrowed. “Yeah, sure. Wha-”

Veronica was cut off as Heather slid towards her, scooting so close to her that they were touching. Cherry assaulted Veronica’s sense of smell and she felt her thoughts fizzle out as she became increasingly aware of Heather’s proximity. She thought she saw Heather move her arm up, but all she could focus on was the fact that Heather had wrapped her foot around her own.

Veronica swallowed as she felt her face heat up. What was going on again? Heather was saying something, but Veronica couldn’t understand the words. She was vaguely aware that Duke and McNamara were at the table with her, but they disappeared from her memory as Heather’s hand landed on her thigh. Her eyes widened.

“Veronica.”

The sound of Heather’s voice saying her name drew her back to reality, though her brain was still frazzled. She dimly recognized Duke and McNamara sitting across from her again, though she couldn’t focus on their expressions.

Heather was looking at her, her face too close for comfort, though not enough to be intimate.

“Everything ok?” The concern in Heather’s tone didn’t match the glint in her eye.

Veronica swallowed and nodded as she felt with her free hand to see if she had space to scoot away on the bench. She fought back a curse as she felt the edge right against her ass. There was nowhere to run.

_Fuck. “_N-never better,” Veronica said, trying to pull herself together.

Heather’s smirk grew and Veronica fought back a gasp as Heather’s foot started to rub against her ankle. “Good,” Heather replied, making no indication that she was doing anything at all. “Now, as I was saying, can you give me your opinion on what she meant by this?”

Heather removed her hand from her thigh to push up her sleeve, and Veronica fought back a sigh of relief. It didn’t last long as soon Veronica found Heather’s arm right in front of her. She could see her own handwriting displayed in the blue ink she’d used.

Veronica squinted, trying to focus. “I, uh, well,” she stammered. “It seems like she was, uh, trying to be encouraging?”

Heather’s smirk widened. Veronica’s eyes narrowed, regaining clarity. Just what- Her thoughts were cut off again as Heather placed her hand back down on her thigh. She couldn’t help the noise of surprise that came out of her.

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too,” Heather said, acting like nothing was amiss.

A conversation started but Veronica barely heard any of it, too distracted by Heather’s proximity. The Heather’s words buzzed, not making sense. Every time Veronica felt herself regaining some sense, Heather’s hand would move some place new and the process would start all over again. An eternity was passing in what she knew was just minutes. Veronica pleaded internally for a means of escape, any means. She’d even take talking to Kurt and Ram, those dickheads.

The bell rang and Veronica felt a relief so strong that she audibly sighed. Seeing a chance to escape, Veronica scrambled away from Heather, trying to get off the bench as quickly as she could without falling flat on her ass. She could rear Duke snickering as she picked up her books.

“Hey, so, I’ve gotta motor,” she said, running her free hand through her hair frantically as she backed away, speaking a mile a minute. “Lots of work to do in study hall. I’ll see you guys later ok bye.”

Not wasting a second, Veronica booked it as quickly as she could without full on running. She could feel dozens of eyes on her, including Heather’s, but she didn’t care. She needed to get some distance so she could pull herself together.

Just what the fuck was that? What had possessed Heather to get that close out of nowhere? One minute everything was fine, and the next, she was all over her. She’d tried to make sense of it, but her brain was still too fried.

Reaching the class before anyone else, Veronica put her stuff down and put her head in her hands, forcing herself to take deep breaths to steady herself. As her breathing slowed and the tension in her shoulders released, she watched as others entered the room, all of them shooting glances her way, no doubt thinking about the incident that had just occurred.

‘On the bright side,’ Veronica thought, sitting straighter, ‘none of the Heathers share this period with me. Maybe I can figure out just what the fuck is going on.

* * *

“Oh my god, did you see her face?” Duke cackled, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes.

Heather was hunched over laughing at her spot by the sink. “Holy shit, that was amazing. I thought her eyes were going to bug out when I kept messing with her leg!”

The reminder of it sent Duke into another round of giggles. McNamara was the only one who didn’t look amused.

“Don’t you think you laid it on a little too thick?” she asked, frowning as she pulled her lipstick from her bag.

“Oh, come on, don’t be a buzzkill,” Duke pouted.

“I’m serious. Veronica’s not stupid. You might as well as just put up a neon sign over your head that said, ‘I know you’re my soulmate.’”

“Please,” Heather said, waving her hand, unconcerned. “Did you see the way she was stammering? I don’t think she even processed half of what we were talking about. Seeing her squirm like that was worth it. And besides, what’s she gonna do if she _does_ figure it out? Confront me about it? That’s the whole point.” She looked into the mirror and adjusted her scrunchie. “And if she doesn’t, well,” Heather smiled, “that just means more fun for me.”

* * *

“Holy crap, Veronica,” Martha said as she sat down beside her. “What the heck was going on with you and Heather?”

Veronica shook her head. She still hadn’t fully recovered, a layer of fuzz refusing to dissipate from her line of thought. “I- I still don’t know. It’s all a blur.” She let out a growl of frustration as she ran a hand though her hair. “I don’t get it. Why would she do that?”

Martha was silent for a moment before she spoke in a low tone. “Are you positive Heather doesn’t know about… you know?”

“Yes,” She answered on instinct. She paused. “I mean, no! There’s no way she knows. Nothing’s changed. I mean, she hasn’t said or done anything that would… give away… that… she…”

Veronica’s voice trailed off as the layer of fuzz disappeared, the gears in her brain spinning into overdrive. Was she being paranoid? Was what Heather had been doing all day really that suspicious? The bending, the out of the blue decision to stop decoding, getting all up in her personal space, the smug expression she had while doing so…

FUCK!

Veronica’s eyes widened as her heartrate picked up. She clenched her fingers into a fist as she resisted the urge to hit the table. What the fuck? Heather knew. She fucking knew and it took Veronica took this long to realize she was being played.

“Oh my fucking god,” she hissed, clenching her fist tighter, “She knows!”

“You think?” Martha said sarcastically, an exasperated expression on her face. “You didn’t realize when she started getting all over you?”

“I was a little preoccupied by the fact that she was all up in my space, sue me.” Veronica ran her hands over her face. “Fuck, it’s so obvious. How did I not see it?”

“Do you think she figured it out during class today?” Martha asked, changing the subject.

Veronica shook her head, her muscles still tense. “No… no, I think she’s known since yesterday. She was being way too weird this morning. Shit, I knew something was up, but I convinced myself I was being paranoid. But why didn’t she say anything? Why is dicking around instead of just talking to me?”

It hit her as soon as she said it. Veronica groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Ugh. Fucking hell, Heather.”

Martha raised her eyebrows. “What is it?”

Veronica dropped her hand. “Well, let’s put it this way: who’s the pettiest person on the planet?”

Martha gave her a sympathetic look. “Oh, that makes sense. Leave it to her to try and one up your own brand of pettiness. Honestly, we should have seen this coming considering how this all started. You know, with you being petty first.”

Veronica shot her a look, offended. “Whose side are you on?!”

Martha put her hands up in surrender. “Yours, definitely yours.”

Veronica sighed. It wasn’t fair of her to take this out on Martha. “Sorry, I know. I’m just frustrated. It’s just- couldn’t she make things easy for once in her life?”

“V, come on. This is Heather Chandler we’re talking about. When has she ever even thought about making things easy? She thrives on causing dysfunction.”

Veronica pouted, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back. “You’re right, but you don’t have to say it.”

They were quiet for a moment. Veronica felt stupid. All the signs had been there, and she hadn’t realized the truth. She’d done it again: underestimate Heather. She should know by not that Heather was never predictable. It’d been proven time and time again, and yet somehow, each time she was still caught off guard.

“Do you think the other two know?” Martha asked, biting her lip. “About the secret?”

Veronica remembered how giddy Duke had been before the lunchtime incident, and the looks the two of them had been shooting her. On this, she didn’t have a shadow of a doubt.

“Oh yeah, they definitely know,” Veronica answered. “Heather Duke was _way_ too happy today.”

She narrowed her eyes, thinking. There was one advantage she had though. There was a small crack in Heather’s plan and Veronica might be able to exploit it. And luckily for her, she had the perfect opportunity in just a few classes.

* * *

Veronica stalked into her seventh period science class on a mission. She’d spent the last two classes devising a game plan of how to approach this. She hadn’t bothered even trying to question Duke last period, even though it was only the two of them. Duke was too loyal to Heather to give her up, at least in this particular situation. Given their current relationship, Veronica knew that if it came down to her or Heather, Duke would go with the latter. No, her best strategy was to go for the weaker link, for the person who had already known the secret, who’d hidden it from Heather even though she didn’t want to.

It was time to get answers out of McNamara.

The girl in question was already at their table when Veronica walked in. McNamara raised her hand to wave at her, smiling, but dropped her hand as she saw Veronica’s face, a guilty expression replacing it. It was all the answer Veronica needed. She’d definitely be able to get information out of her during class. She headed for her seat.

She was almost there when McNamara stood up, grabbed her things, and started walking in her direction.

Veronica stopped, taken aback. What was she doing? She shot McNamara a questioning look but Veronica was ignored as she walked past her and stopped in front of the teacher’s desk.

“Mr. Slater?” McNamara said, producing something from her binder. “Can I be dismissed from class? Coach needs me to work on some cheer routines before our big competition.”

Veronica’s eyes widened as she realized what McNamara was handing him: it was the note that she’d forged in the bathroom earlier that day. Veronica bit back a curse as Mr. Slater opened the note and read it over.

He rubbed his forehead. “Alright, go on. Get the homework from someone in class.” His eyes found Veronica. “Please sit down, Miss Sawyer. Class is starting soon.”

Veronica nodded but didn’t take her eyes off of McNamara, her eyes narrowed. McNamara looked back at her and shot her an apologetic look.

‘I’m sorry,’ she mouthed before hightailing it out of the classroom. Veronica stared at the empty doorway, stunned.

“Miss Sawyer?”

She shook her head quickly, trying to shake off her astonishment. “Right. Sorry, Mr. Slater.”

Veronica moved, putting her things down at the now empty table. Sitting down as the bell rung, she sulked. McNamara had outplayed her. She must have guessed she was going to figure it out and made sure she had a get out of jail free card before Veronica realized what was going on. She had to admit, it was a good plan, but that didn’t mean she liked it.

With McNamara’s strategic withdraw, Veronica had lost her chance to dig for information from the only Heather who might have actually caved. As Mr. Slater started the lesson, Veronica pulled her notebook out so she looked productive as her mind wandered. She bit her lip.

‘Well now what do I do?’

* * *

The final bell of the day rang. Veronica left the class in a hurry. She’d spent the rest of the day strategizing and she figured she still had a chance to interrogate McNamara. If she could just get to her before the other Heathers showed up, she’d might be able to get some information.

Not even bothering to head to her locker first, she made a bee line for McNamara’s locker. If she timed this right, she could make it there before McNamara, who’d be coming from her study hall. Veronica rounded the corner and grinned in success. She got into position, leaning her back against the metal door.

She made it just in time. Less than a minute later, McNamara rounded the corner. Seeing Veronica, she froze like a deer in headlights. Veronica grinned wider, trying to appear friendly, and waved. McNamara cautiously walked her way, her brow furrowed in suspicion.

“Hey Heather,” Veronica greeted. “Feeling any better? You had me worried when you used that note to get out of sixth period.”

McNamara smiled, the edges of her lips wavering. “Yeah. Loads. Thanks for the note.”

Veronica waved her off. “Anytime.” She dropped her grin, adopting a serious expression. “Look, there’s something I’ve gotta ask-”

“There you are!”

Fuck. Veronica looked over McNamara’s shoulder and saw Heather and Duke approaching. Shit, she couldn’t let them know what she’d been doing. She smiled, trying to run damage control. Heather didn’t seem to buy it, glancing suspiciously between her and McNamara. Her eyes settled on Veronica and a fake smile took the suspicious look’s place.

“Veronica,” Heather said, showing her teeth. “We haven’t seen you since lunch! We were starting to worry since you ran off so quickly and all.”

‘Sure you were,’ Veronica thought, not buying it for a second.

“Yeah, I just needed to get to study hall,” Veronica answered, shrugging. “Had a lot of stuff I needed to work on, you know?”

“I’m sure.” Heather turned her gaze to McNamara, her eyes narrowing. “And what were you two talking about? Anything interesting?”

McNamara squirmed. Veronica didn’t let Heather get to her.

“Oh, I was just giving Heather the class work she missed,” she said, drawing Heather’s attention back to her as she pulled some papers from her bag. “She ended up using her note during our sixth period class and I wanted to make sure she didn’t fall behind just because she was having a rough time.”

Veronica held them up and gave McNamara a piercing stare, one that said, ‘I know exactly what you’re doing, and you can’t avoid me forever.’ McNamara blanched but accepted the papers nonetheless.

“Thank Ronnie,” McNamara thanked, her smile uneasy.

Veronica nodded, giving her a tight smile before she looked to Heather. She was eyeing her again, looking more suspicious than before. Veronica put on her most innocent look. If Heather wanted to play this game, she was not going to make it easy for her.

“Touching,” Heather said after a beat before standing straighter. “Well there’s no therapy like shopping, so I suggest we hit the mall. You know, to raise our spirits.”

Veronica doubted that was Heather’s only reason. In fact, knowing what she did now, she was sure that Heather had devised some method to get under her skin there and Veronica had no desire to deal with that, at least not before she had time to prepare. But what to do? How did she get out of this?

“Oi! Sawyer!”

Oh thank god. Turning her head towards the voice, she found JD heading her way, a cool and collected smile on his face as he strutted down the hallway. She tried to not to let her relief show. Martha must have told him what the situation was.

“Hey, JD,” Veronica greeted, avoiding Heather’s gaze, feeling it burn holes into the back of her head.

JD came to a halt right beside her. “Veronica.” He turned his head towards the others and his expression soured. “Heathers.”

Veronica looked back at them and was surprised at the sheer amount of hate on Heather’s face. If looks could kill, JD would be dead where he stood. McNamara looked more nervous than before as Duke looked between JD and Heather, as if she were watching some dramatic throw down.

“Trench Coat,” Heather practically snarled through her teeth. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s a free country, isn’t it? And besides,” JD put his arm around Veronica’s shoulder. “I’m here to pick up Veronica here.”

Veronica’s eyes widened as she looked down at the hand on her shoulder and back up at him. Veronica was never surer that JD had a death wish than she was at that moment. He even had the audacity to smirk in a situation like this. Veronica looked back at Heather and saw that somehow her death glare had grown more lethal than before, her cheeks bright red as a vein pulsed in her forehead. Fearing for JD’s safety, she pushed the arm off.

“Pick her up for what?” Heather hissed. “She’s going to the mall with us.”

“Sorry to disappoint, princess,” JD said, unfazed, “but we already have plans. Plans we were supposed to have yesterday before you made her call them off for whatever secret mission you were doing.”

“If I recall,” Heather said, venom dripping off every syllable, “she ditched me yesterday to hang out with you, so,” Heather straightened her posture and leaned in closer, “she’s coming with us.”

“No,” JD protested, drawing out the word. “She came over to deal with a completely separate issue. We were supposed to be getting something to eat with some of our other friends. So,” He copied her posture so that he was now towering over her, “ergo, we still have plans to fulfill.”

They glared at each other for a tense moment. Veronica’s eyes flitted between the two of them, her eyes wide. A second later, Heather broke the stare down, instead turning her glare on Veronica. She froze like a deer in headlights, much like McNamara had earlier. She swallowed.

“Well?” Heather questioned, her eyes narrowed to slits. “What do you think, _Veronica_?”

Veronica knew that there was no right answer to this question, Veronica knew. No matter which way she answered, she was fucked. If she went with Heather, she was submitting herself to an afternoon of whatever Heather had planned. If she went with JD, she doubted Heather would forget it. If today’s plan was bad, Veronica was sure Heather was just going to up the ante. 

But on the other hand, Veronica thought as she gulped, one route would give her way more time to plan, time she would need if she wanted to get through this.

“I, uh,” Veronica said, swallowing again as she tried to psych herself up. “I really should keep those plans. I don’t want to let Martha and Betty down again. Maybe we could go to the mall tomorrow?”

Despite the noise from the dwindling crowds in the hallway, Veronica was sure she could have heard a pin drop. McNamara was looking at her in horror as Duke covered her open mouth with a hand, never taking her eyes off of Heather, her own eyes lit up in mirth. Heather’s mouth wavered as her jaw clenched and released multiple times. Veronica fought the urge to gulp again and instead tried to stand straighter, as if the decision hadn’t scared her shitless.

An uncomfortable amount of time passed before Heather finally relaxed her glare, though not by much.

“Fine,” Heather relented, a sour expression on her face, “Whatever. Go hang out with your gang of losers. But you’re going to the mall with us tomorrow. No exceptions. Got it?”

Veronica nodded her head fiercely.

“Good.” Heather turned to Duke and McNamara who stood up straighter. “Come on, we’re losing valuable shopping time.”

Heather stormed off, ramming her shoulder into JD’s as she did so. McNamara and Duke followed her lead, both shooting her looks. McNamara looked disbelieving as Duke looked like she was going to break into giggles at any moment. They made their way down the hall, the crowds almost completely gone. Before they rounded the corner, Heather looked back at her. Their eyes met. Heather’s narrowed before she rolled them and looked away, disappearing as she passed the wall.

It wasn’t long before JD burst into laughter. Veronica hit his arm, glaring.

“Are you insane?” She hissed under her breath. “Are you trying to get both of us killed?”

“Oh, come on, that was way too much fun,” JD said, wiping away a tear. “Did you see her face? You’d think I stole her favorite toy or something.”

“Not important right now,” Veronica looked towards the direction the Heathers had walked off. “Come on, let me get my things and then we can have a discussion over the death wish you seem to have.”

JD smirked, unaffected. “Whatever you say, but that was totally worth it.”

* * *

“So,” Veronica said after taking a healthy dose of her Slurpee, “mistakes have been made.”

“Well, we’re not perfect,” Betty replied. “And thinking Heather was still oblivious was a completely reasonable assumption to make, all things considering. I just can’t believe she was so bold about it so quickly.”

Veronica grimaced. “Heather always had a flair for the dramatic.”

“What are you going to do?” Martha asked, sipping from her own drink. “I mean, isn’t this what you’ve been waiting for weeks now for?”

“I didn’t want it like this!” Veronica exclaimed. She ran her free hand through her hair. “I wanted her to actually talk to me about this, confront me even, anything where we could just move on already. I didn’t want her to pull this petty shit.”

“Ok, first off,” Betty said, “Heather is one of the pettiest people I know, and that’s including you. The fact that we didn’t see this coming is just sad. Second, why don’t you just tell her yourself now? She already knows who you are, you might as well rip the band aid off and get it over with.”

“That’s exactly what she wants!” Veronica protested. “Don’t you see, she’s doing all of this to get me to cave and bring it up so she doesn’t have to. No. No way. There’s no way in hell I’m letting her get the better of me here.”

Betty sighed, looking exasperated but not surprised.

“But aren’t you tired of all this?” Martha asked. “Just two days ago you were complaining about how you weren’t even a suspect on Heather’s radar.”

Veronica gave her a disbelieving look. “That was before Heather decided to try and one up me. Now, it’s war.”

Martha facepalmed while JD smirked. “Now we’re talking, Sawyer. What exactly did you have in mind? I’ll help in any way I can.”

Veronica glared at him. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about what happened.”

The smirk didn’t leave his face. “Wouldn’t dream of it. But look at it this way: Heather doesn’t like me.”

Veronica stared. “And…”

“And,” JD continued, “what would fuck with her more than seeing you around someone she despises?”

Veronica thought it over. “That’s dirty,” she answered, her hand over her lips. She put it down and smiled. “But then again, you clearly don’t care about what Heather’s going to do in retaliation. If Heather wants to fight dirty than it’s only fair I do the same.”

Betty and Martha both groaned as JD grinned devilishly. “Now, you’re speaking my language.”

* * *

Heather hummed to herself as she got ready for bed. Today had been a success in her book. Sure, there was a part of her that had hoped Veronica would have cracked, but there was still time. Besides, the look on Veronica’s face as Heather messed with her had filled her with vindication. She finally had control of the situation. She was the one with the power. The status quo had returned to its rightful state and she couldn’t be happier about it.

There was something that irritated her though. Heather could have done without Trench Coat throwing off her plans for the mall. The second she’d heard his voice, her usual loathing had surface, only to be amplified as she remembered the fact that he was handing around _her_ soulmate. Seeing him interact with Veronica, putting his arm around her like it was nothing had filled her with a deep rage. Veronica was _her_ soulmate, not his. It couldn’t be clearer that he had a crush on Veronica and Heather had a suspicion that he knew she liked her too. Which made that stupid smirk of his even more enraging.

Plus, if he hadn’t shown up, Heather would have been able to get some serious work in on the confession front. She’d already concocted a plan she couldn’t wait to put into action. But thanks to Trench Coat, she wouldn’t be able to use it until tomorrow after school, giving Veronica more time to figure out what was going on.

And Veronica… how dare she choose him over her. Sure, it was probably due to her performance in the cafeteria, but still, it was unacceptable. What did Trench Coat have that she didn’t? Her, her actual soulmate?

After school, McNamara had voiced her suspicions that Veronica had figured it out, citing the way she had stalked into sixth period and how’d she tried to ambush her after school, but Heather wasn’t too sure. She couldn’t dismiss the possibility; Veronica had hidden her secret for over a month after all. But she didn’t want to make any assumptions. It was too much of a gamble considering how unpredictable Veronica was. Heather didn’t doubt that she was suspicious. She’d have to be stupid not to, and Veronica wasn’t stupid. Heather would have to be patient, wait it out, and observe Veronica’s behavior before making any conclusions.

As she finished combing her hair, she felt a message come in on her arm. Smiling, Heather pulled up her sleeve and read the text Veronica had written in her signature blue ink.

**You’re awfully quiet today**

Heather smiled wider and sat down on her bed, grabbing the red marker off the nightstand.

** _It’s been a long day. Lots of things on my mind_ **

**Everything ok? You didn’t have a stroke over this code stuff, did you?**

Heather laughed. It was almost cute of Veronica to act like she didn’t know Heather had stopped decoding.

** _No, just taking a break_ **

**Really? A break? Why?**

Heather leaned back onto her pillows, her smile turning into a smirk. She was sure that question had been eating at Veronica all day.

** _I’m getting nowhere. Might as well rest and refresh_ **

**Just like that?**

Her smirk widened.

** _Just like that._ **

Veronica didn’t reply. Heather, victorious, sat up and continued her nightly routine. While she still wanted to talk about all of this with Veronica in person, a part of her hoped Veronica wouldn’t catch on, at least for a little bit. This was way too much fun.

As she put down her toothbrush, Heather felt Veronica message back. She lifted her arm.

**Well whatever you want to do, I’ll be here**

**Like if you want to talk or anything**

A beat passed before another message came in.

**And like I said earlier, I believe in you**

Heather cursed as she felt a hint of a blush start in her cheeks. Fuck, Veronica wasn’t supposed to be endearing now. Heather was trying to be petty and this was not helping. She wrote back.

** _I know _ **

Heather bit her lip. She narrowed her eyes as she debated with herself on what to add, feeling the statement was incomplete.

‘Fuck it,’ she thought.

** _And thanks_ **

Veronica replied without delay.

**Always**

Heather’s mind flew back to when they’d had a similar exchange. She’d been sitting on a bathroom floor, the bathroom tile cool against her legs as she struggled to regain her composure, her breathing labored. The scent of weed had coated the air and Heather had longed for a drag, but refused to leave the locked bathroom, still reeling from what had just occurred. Hot tears had leaked down her cheeks as her soulmate, as Veronica, recounted silly stories to distract her. It’d been the first time Heather really felt connected to her, felt that maybe there hadn’t been a mistake, that her soulmate actually cared.

**Always**. That one word had touched her, had given her enough strength to get out of there, to walk through that house and get home. It had meant the world to her. It gave her something to focus on, to help her try and forget that night. **Always**.

Heather swallowed, her cheeks heating up. Putting her sleeve down, she covered her face with her hands.

‘Dammit Veronica,’ she thought as she tried to pull herself together. ‘Stop making this so hard!’

* * *

Veronica sat on her bed, leaning against the headboard as she waited for Heather to reply. When more than ten minutes passed, she put her pen down, feeling rather accomplished. It seemed like she’d pulled it off: Heather didn’t seem to suspect a thing.

She’d tried to keep up her encouraging attitude from earlier that morning while trying to balance it with a healthy dose of curiosity. She didn’t want to overdo it: that would be sure to get on Heather’s radar. But it would be even more suspicious if she hadn’t seemed curious at all.

Heather had thrown her off when she’d thanked her. She’d been acting aloof the entire conversation up until that moment. In that moment of sincerity, Veronica had almost felt bad for keeping up this façade. So, she’d returned the favor and had been honest as well.

Veronica ran her fingers over her own words. She’d responded on instinct and said the same thing that she had all those weeks ago. **Always**. That night had been the first night Heather had been truly vulnerable in front of her, figuratively speaking. She wondered if Heather remembered too, if she’d made the connection. She must have, considering how she hadn’t responded after that.

Veronica shook her head. She needed to focus. Putting aside that one moment of honesty, Heather was still playing dumb, pretending that she didn’t know who she was talking to. She was going to stop at nothing to get Veronica to break, to be the one to reveal her secret. Veronica couldn’t let that happen. She’d come too far to give up now.

She walked over to her desk and took a seat, opening the diary in front of her. Securing her monocle onto her face, she took her pen and got to work.

_Dear Diary,_

_The day has come. Heather Chandler knows my secret. But in true Heather fashion, she’s refusing to do things the easy way. She won’t acknowledge what she knows to my face, instead choosing (from what I can tell) to fuck with me until I have no choice but to say something._

_Well fuck that. I refuse to be the loser of a game I created. So, it’s time to level the playing field back towards me. _

_And we’re gonna figure out how._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait! Work has been kicking my ass, but things have finally started to get back to a manageable level thank god. This chapter was an absolute nightmare to write. It felt like anytime I went to write it, I either had the motivation, but no inspiration, or vice versa. But thankfully I was able to push through and get it done. This chapter easily had the biggest number of edits in it, which makes sense since this is my longest chapter. It went from 7.5k words before edits to the 9.2k words it is now.
> 
> Let me know what you guys think!


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